NBR chairman urges officials to achieve revenue collection targets

NBR chairman urges facilitation of trade alongside strict enforcement to meet revenue goals

National Board of Revenue (NBR) Chairman and Internal Resources Division (IRD) Secretary Md Abdur Rahman Khan has called for facilitating trade while strictly implementing laws to achieve the current fiscal year’s revenue targets.

“No importer or exporter should be harassed by unnecessary BIN locks,” he said while addressing separate review meetings on revenue collection performance of the Customs, VAT, and Income Tax wings for July of FY 2025–26.

According to a press release issued Friday, the NBR chief stressed smooth operations for compliant businesses, saying the board’s priority should be trade facilitation and effective revenue collection through proper enforcement of existing laws.

He instructed officials to act on the basis of revenue risks and past records in the Asycuda system, instead of locking importers’ and exporters’ BINs out of suspicion. “Compliant traders must not be penalized unnecessarily,” he said, adding that each customs house and intelligence office must explain in monthly meetings the reasons behind BIN locks and the amount of additional tax realized.

On VAT, he cautioned against putting undue pressure on honest taxpayers. “Taxes must be collected legally under the VAT law. Those who do not pay VAT at all must be brought under the net, and evaders should face exemplary punishment,” he said. The chairman also directed VAT officials to ensure mandatory registration of all eligible businesses.

He instructed that all bond-related activities be shifted online within a month, with strict time limits for services and accountability mechanisms for officers. Any misuse of bond facilities, either by businesses or NBR officials, should result in cancellation of licenses and legal action, he warned. The results of bond audits must be presented at every revenue meeting.

To reduce container congestion, he ordered customs houses to expedite auctions and clear long-pending containers by December 2025.

In reviewing income tax performance, the chairman emphasized adequate manpower deployment across commissionerates to assist e-return filers and ensure round-the-clock call center support. He also directed integration of eTIN with the eTDS system and stressed maximum enforcement of laws to recover outstanding taxes.

Pending audit cases must be settled quickly, tax claims created, and collections pursued as per NBR’s audit guidelines, he said. He underscored making the audit selection process for corporate and individual taxpayers transparent and automated.

The chairman instructed that non-filers with valid TINs must be served notices, their income and assets investigated, and taxes levied and collected under the law, with progress reported monthly. Tax regions were asked to boost intelligence to detect evasion and expedite return processing.

It was also decided that NBR monitoring members will meet weekly with tax commissioners to review progress on non-filer enforcement, evasion detection, return processing for FY 2024–25, and pending audits, and submit reports directly to the chairman.

The meeting, attended by commissioners of Customs, VAT, and Income Tax divisions and NBR members, concluded with a collective resolve to raise revenue collection and strengthen the tax-GDP ratio.