PWSMA pushes for digital tax fix

ISLAMABAD: Plastic bag manufacturers have blamed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for billions of rupees in annual tax evasion by major commodity producers due to malfunctioning production tracking systems. Industry players have sought the intervention of the new Finance Minister, Muhammad Aurangzeb, who is also advocating end-to-end digitisation of the tax system to eliminate leakages. The Polypropylene Woven Sack Manufacturers Association (PWSMA) has proposed mandatory printing of codes on plastic bags and code reader machines on production lines—a move it claims can increase the size of the formal economy by 20%. The association has sought the intervention of the finance minister for mandatory printing of codes on plastic bags used by various manufacturing sectors. The Polypropylene Woven Sack Manufacturers Association Chairman, Iskandar Khan, has also written a letter to the finance minister.