FBR Establishes National Faceless Centre for Tax Audits and Assessments
- Audit cases will be selected through a computerised system based on risk and assigned automatically to tax officers.
- Separate officers will handle the audit, assessment and quality review of each case.
- Taxpayers will receive notices, submit replies and attend hearings through FBR’s IRIS system.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has established a National Faceless Centre (NFC) in Islamabad to change how tax audits and assessments are conducted across Pakistan. The decision was taken by the Board in Council at its meeting on Friday.
Under the new system, taxpayers whose returns are selected for audit will no longer be required to deal directly with an assigned tax officer. A computerised system will select cases based on risk and allocate them automatically to officers who may be posted anywhere in the country. Taxpayers will not be told which officer is handling their case, and officers will have no role in choosing the cases assigned to them.
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Each case will move through three stages handled by different officers. One will conduct the audit, another will make the assessment, and a third will review the work for quality before an order is issued. This means no single officer will manage a case from selection through to the final decision.
Notices, taxpayer responses and hearings will be handled electronically through FBR’s IRIS system. Where physical verification or recovery is required by law, a separate field team will carry out that work.
The NFC has been established under provisions introduced through the Finance Act, 2026. It will be led by a Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue and will have dedicated wings for audit, assessment, quality control and field operations. A Programme Management Unit has also been set up to oversee the rollout.
FBR says the reform is intended to apply rules more consistently, base decisions on data and address complaints linked to direct contact between taxpayers and tax officers. The board expects the new process to make tax proceedings faster, fairer and more transparent.
