Overview
- The Central Development Working Party recommended the Rs57.1 billion ($200 million) Transforming and Digitalising Revenue Administration (TADRA) project for ECNEC consideration on Friday, with the loan to be financed by the Asian Development Bank.
- The CDWP made its referral conditional on a Pakistan Institute of Development Economics review of TADRA’s business model and on impact assessments of earlier foreign‑funded tax reform programmes to test value for money.
- Technical reviewers and university experts told planners that the TADRA proposal lacks a documented gap analysis, a comprehensive data‑security framework, and clear specifications for the artificial‑intelligence models the project would use.
- The Federal Board of Revenue has promised TADRA will raise tax‑to‑GDP to 13.5% by 2029 and expand active filers from about 7 million to 12 million, but planning officials noted successive reform loans have not delivered sustained revenue gains and previous targets were missed.
- Next steps include the PIDE review, ECNEC approval and formal loan negotiations; the proposed ADB terms are concessional—25‑year repayment, five‑year grace period and about 1.5–2.0% annual interest—which means taxpayers ultimately bear the loan cost while scrutiny determines whether expected revenue gains will materialise.