KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said Tuesday that the establishment of E-stamping system would plug revenue leakages, improve compliance ratio as well as facilitate and build confidence of the taxpayer in the system.
“It is my absolute pleasure to announce the establishment of E-Stamping as one of the major developments in this area,” he said while speaking at the inauguration ceremony of E-stamping here at CM House today. The meeting was attended by provincial ministers, chief secretary, National Bank President, leading businessmen and others.
To make the province of Sindh prosperous, safe, healthy, educated and to uplift living standards of the people has been our top priority, the CM said and added that to achieve these objectives, his government has always labored to enhance the tax base through an efficient, effective, and public-friendly tax collection system. “Therefore, with continuous efforts we have significantly increased our revenue generation, however, there is still room for improvement as tremendous potential is yet to be tapped,” he said.
Mr Shah said that his government has always ensured that the tax rates must be rational. “Incidence of those taxes should not trickle down to our underprivileged section of the society,” he said and added that alongside improving the tax collection system, the Sindh government has given relief to the public on taxes levied on real estate transactions by abolishing Capital Value Tax (CVT) and Registration Fee, while slashing stamp duty rate from two percent to one percent.
Murad Ali Shah said that the digital technology has revolutionized the world, interface with digital technology would definitely plug revenue leakages, improve compliance ratio as well as facilitate and build confidence of the taxpayer in the system. “It is my absolute pleasure to announce the establishment of E-Stamping as one of the major developments in this area,” he said.
The Board of Revenue, Sindh is introducing an E-Stamping system, modelled according to advanced international practices, Mr Shah said and added” the E-Stamping system envisages online generation and printing of stamp duty challan from the web-based application as well as issuance of e-stamp papers from branches of National Bank of Pakistan,”
Mr Shah disclosed that the E-Stamping system has been put under testing in 22 branches of NBP and now finally it was ready to be rolled out in more than 300 branches of NBP across the Province. According to Mr Shah the E-Stamping system would help to eradicate menace of fake and forged stamp papers, substantially increase revenue receipts and above all, improve public facilitation as well as services provided to the populace. The CM hoped that along with increasing provincial revenue, the E-Stamping system would also have a positive effect on broader fiscal and economic reforms in the country.
Mr Shah said that as a part of our broader tax policy reforms, his government has recently notified the Sindh Valuation Table of Immovable Property Rules, 2022 to rationalize valuation tables of immovable property as an essential element for equity in the taxation system. “These rules set out the procedure to be adopted to review, rationalize and revise valuation tables to discourage overvaluation or undervaluation of immovable property value in Sindh and ensure equity and transparency,” he said.
The chief minister acknowledged and appreciated the support of all stakeholders, including PITB, National Bank of Pakistan as well as State Bank of Pakistan in the successful implementation of E-Stamping. He also congratulated the Board of Revenue, Sindh team for achieving this remarkable task. Minister Revenue Makhdoom Mahboob speaking on the occasion said that as for e-stamping was concerned he has been personally involved in the journey from its conceptualization to its inauguration.
He said that it was a long, arduous yet thrilling sojourn from carrying out necessary legal reforms to developing the software to its integration with National Bank and rolling out e-stamping through its branches. Earlier, the chief minister, pressing a key through a remote-control computer cursor inaugurated the E-stamping system.
Salient features of the E-stamping System include generation of challan 32-A for Stamp Duty, automation of Valuation Rates, integration between e-Stamp system and NBP, issuance of e-Stamp through NBP branches, pay deficiency of Stamp Duty through e-Stamping system, online Verification of e-Stamp paper, verification Portal for Sub Registrars and user guides and training videos.