FBR sets up faceless tax audit, assessment centre in Islamabad
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has established the National Faceless Centre in Islamabad, under which audits and assessments will be handled by “faceless” wings to reduce official discretion and direct contact between tax officials and taxpayers. The initiative has been taken under Pakistan’s New Tax Operating Model and was approved by the government in principle in June. The…
Islamabad has witnessed the establishment of the National Faceless Centre (NFC) by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). This centralised and faceless tax model, akin to systems in the UK, Australia, the Netherlands, Singapore, and India, aims to reduce corruption by eliminating direct contact between tax officials and taxpayers.
Under the NFC, audits and assessments will be managed by "faceless" wings, with cases selected through a computerised, risk-based system instead of individual officer discretion. Each case will be automatically assigned to an officer stationed anywhere in the country, without the officer having any say over which cases are handled.
The NFC is structured into three separate wings: one for audits, another for assessments, and a third for quality control. No single officer will oversee a taxpayer's entire case from start to finish. All communications, from notices to hearings, will occur electronically via the FBR's IRIS system. Physical verifications or recoveries, if required by law, will be conducted by a separate field team.
Legal authority for the NFC stems from the Finance Act, 2026. It is headed by an Inland Revenue chief commissioner, with a Programme Management Unit overseeing its implementation. The FBR envisions the NFC to streamline tax proceedings, ensuring fairness and transparency for taxpayers nationwide.
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