The Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI) has described effective tax enforcement as a significant financial opportunity for Pakistan, stressing that the core challenge is not the formulation of new policies but ensuring consistent and effective implementation.
In its remarks, the OICCI said that meaningful improvements in tax compliance and expansion of the tax net could substantially increase national revenues without the need for additional legislation or higher tax rates.
According to the 24NewsHD TV channel, the organisation emphasised that enforcement and continuity in implementation remain the key obstacles in the country’s tax reform efforts.
The chamber proposed greater use of integrated data sources, including banking records, utility bills, property ownership data and information held by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), to identify non-filers and broaden the tax base.
According to OICCI estimates, a significant portion of Pakistan’s economy—between 30 and 40 per cent—remains outside the formal tax system.
The organisation suggested that leveraging existing data could help bring more individuals and businesses into the tax net more efficiently.
It further noted that nearly half of recent revenue growth in the last financial period came from the recovery of outstanding tax liabilities, highlighting the potential of enforcement-based gains.
The OICCI estimated that expanding the tax base could generate an additional 300 to 500 billion rupees annually over the next five years.
It reiterated that the central challenge facing tax reform is not policy design but ensuring sustained and effective execution across institutions.
The chamber added that bringing historically untaxed sectors into the formal system has increasingly become a government priority and urged authorities to strengthen enforcement mechanisms to achieve long-term fiscal stability.
Reporter: Baseem Iftikhar