Islamabad,(Parliament Times) : An extraordinary meeting of the Inland Revenue Department Azad Kashmir was held with Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq in the chair.During the meeting, the commissioners of the Inland Revenue Department gave a detailed briefing to the PM regarding tax collection, achievement of targets, and other related matters.Addressing the meeting, Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq directed the relevant authorities to intensify their efforts to achieve the tax collection targets.
He stressed the need for initiating a comprehensive reform process at the departmental level to improve the performance of officers and staff. The Prime Minister said that revenue collected from tourism, hydel power, and state-owned enterprises would be spent to improve health, education, and road infrastructure across the state.
Regarding the broadening of the tax base, the Prime Minister directed the Inland Revenue officers to take all possible steps to increase and add more taxpayers to the tax net. He said that the department should take all possible steps to increase its efficiency and meet the tax targets. Earlier, the Inland Revenue Secretary told the PM that during the current fiscal year taxes worth 2 billion 36 crores were collected from the North Zone, whereas 17 billion 18 crore rupees have been collected in the South Zone. He said that the total tax target of 19 billion 54 crores has been achieved during the first quarter.
The meeting was attended by Government Ministers Abdul Majid Khan, Chaudhry Akbar Ibrahim Khan, Inland Revenue Secretary Sardar Zafar Khan, Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners, and others.
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Chaudhry Muhammad Akhlaq hosted a dinner in honor of Prime Minister Chaudhry Anwarul Haq in Kotli. Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister reiterated his commitment to serve the people of Azad Kashmir. He said that education, health, and development of road infrastructure in the region were his top priorities. The PM said that he would soon pay a detailed visit to Kotli to meet people and redress their grievances.