Islamabad – The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has intensified its enforcement efforts to combat tax evasion in the sugar industry, launching a series of operations against non-compliant sugar mills in Punjab and Sindh. As part of these actions, the FBR has sealed several mills, confiscated unstamped sugar stocks, and suspended nine officials implicated in malpractice and connivance with mills to evade taxes. On the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, the FBR introduced an improved production monitoring system at the start of the 2024-25 sugarcane crushing season. This system employs five layers of oversight, including track-and-trace stamps, automated bag-counting hoppers, video surveillance, digital eye-counting technology, an electronic invoicing system for sugar dispatches, and the physical presence of FBR staff to oversee production and sales. Additional monitoring by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) ensures transparency. To enhance the system’s efficacy, integrated CCTV cameras and random inspections by senior officers and the Inland Revenue Enforcement Network are in place. Law enforcement agencies, including police and Pakistan Rangers, provide additional support to ensure strict compliance. This season, Pakistan’s sugar sector, which comprises 80 operational mills, expects a sugarcane crop of 70 million metric tons, producing over 7 million metric tons of sugar. With over 1 million metric tons of opening stock, the country is poised to meet domestic demand while exporting sugar, molasses, and ethanol to bolster foreign exchange reserves. The permanent deployment of FBR staff during the last season curbed sugar smuggling, stabilized prices, and mitigated hoarding. Key Enforcement Actions…