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Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered strict action following the disclosure of financial irregularities amounting to billions of rupees through over-invoicing.
He directed that legal proceedings against those responsible be expedited without delay. The directive came during a high-level meeting on Federal Board of Revenue affairs, chaired by the prime minister, where a committee report on over-invoicing was presented.
He said that the illicit practice had continued between 2017 and 2022, while relevant institutions remained persistently negligent in their duties.
The prime minister instructed that all individuals involved in the malpractice be proceeded against under the law at an accelerated pace. He further called for the identification of officials responsible for negligence and ordered departmental action against them.
He stated that tax revenue constitutes a national trust and that every penny must be accounted for as a matter of state responsibility.
Directions were also issued for the formulation of a comprehensive strategy to prevent such incidents in future. The Prime Minister called for the Financial Monitoring Unit to be strengthened, with the inclusion of representatives from the Federal Investigation Agency and the Intelligence Bureau.
The meeting was informed that the FBR has established a centralised price verification portal, which is expected to be linked with banks by the end of June. It was further noted that the over-invoicing was first identified in October 2022 by the post-clearance audit wing. Since then, thirteen FIRs have been registered and legal proceedings remain under way.
