In Pakistan, recent investigations have revealed delays in the full deployment of the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) Track and Trace System across four key industrial sectors: cement, fertilizer, sugar, and tobacco.
ABN News reported the issue came to light following the Prime Minister’s establishment of an inquiry committee chaired by the Secretary of Treasury, which attributed the delays to lapses by relevant FBR officials.
The committee discovered discrepancies in the implementation of the Track and Trace System. Specifically, the system was mandated to install only one production line per cement factory, contrasting with the number of production lines operational within these sectors.
Official records uncovered a substantial underreporting of production lines in the tender documents issued by the FBR. While the documents indicated only 290 lines across 146 factories in these sectors, there are actually 649 production lines.
Breaking it down by sector, the tobacco industry reported having 50 production lines across 15 factories, cement reported 50 lines across 25 factories, sugar documented 160 lines across 80 factories, and fertilizer reported 30 lines across 15 factories. However, it was revealed that the cement sector operates over 200 production lines, far exceeding the 50 officially declared lines.
Since the system’s initiation in 2021, the Track and Trace Systems have been installed on only 180 production lines, representing just 28% of the actual total, which falls well below the FBR’s contractual obligation to equip 62% of production lines with the system, highlighting a significant shortfall in regulatory compliance.
