{
  "id": 4085858,
  "title": "PM Shehbaz directs FBR to ensure third-party audit of ongoing tax reforms",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/pm-shehbaz-directs-fbr-to-ensure-third-party-audit-of-ongoing-tax",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-29T02:38:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn Business",
    "slug": "dawn-business",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2025916/pm-shehbaz-directs-fbr-to-ensure-third-party-audit-of-ongoing-tax-reforms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to conduct a third-party audit of ongoing tax reforms, emphasizing the importance of transparency, effectiveness, and sustainability in the reform process. During a review meeting, officials outlined the core pillars of the reforms, which include digitalization, production monitoring, and automated systems. The Prime Minister's Office stated that Sharif instructed authorities to implement the reforms within the stipulated timeframe, intensify enforcement against tax evasion, smuggling, and illegal businesses, and ensure the modernization and strengthening of the tax system to increase revenue collection and eradicate smuggling. The meeting was briefed on the ongoing reforms, including the restructuring of PRAL, the digitalization of the tax system, and the measures taken to curb smuggling. Additionally, it was mentioned that a new tax operating model, IRIS 3.0, is being developed with the help of international consultants, and a central data hub is being created to make the tax system more modern, integrated, and data-driven. Efforts are also being made to pilot auto-taxation and utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve tax collection.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Daily Times",
        "title": "PM Shehbaz seeks deadline for FBR reforms",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/pm-shehbaz-seeks-deadline-for-fbr-reforms",
        "published": "2026-08-28T09:51:32.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}