FBR Gives Full Access to PRAL Data to Tax Officials

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has granted full access to Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL) data to FBR officials for enforcement purposes. In this regard,  the FBR has directed the CEO of PRAL to ensure that PRAL extends full cooperation to the domain officers in accordance with the responsibilities outlined in the TORs. According to a notification issued by the FBR on Saturday, the Domain Officers will be primarily responsible for software development and implementation, data analysis and reporting optimization, and data governance, compliance, and management. The Terms of Reference (TORs) of the attachment of Domain Officers shall cover software development & implementation; engage with PRAL teams throughout all stages of the Software Development Life  Cycle (SDLC) to ensure seamless collaboration and alignment with FBR’s requirements and objectives and collaborate with PRAL teams in the preparation, review, validation, and sign-off of Business Requirement Specifications (BRS) and Change Request Forms (CRF) to ensure FBR’s operational needs, legal requirements, and business processes are accurately captured in software development. TORs also included collaborating with the development team to ensure best software practices are followed while offering domain-specific expertise to ensure the developed functionalities align with FBR’s operational workflows and business logic; review and validate test cases to ensure thorough software testing, and actively participate in user acceptance testing (UAT) to confirm system accuracy and performance. TORs of tax officials covered assist in the delivery of dashboards for FBR’s field officers based on their specific needs and preferences, ensuring that the dashboards are up-to-date and user[1]friendly; ensure that the data reports and dashboards reflect actionable insights which assist FBR’s field officers in enhancing operational performance; suggest automated data validation checks to ensure that data accuracy is maintained throughout its lifecycle. They will also help regularly monitor the performance of data analysis tools and dashboards, gathering feedback from FBR’s field officers to ensure they remain effective and meet evolving operational needs; establish a process for continuous improvement by tracking the impact of data analytics on FBR’s revenue generation, identifying opportunities for further optimization, and ensuring that data-driven insights contribute to enhanced revenue generation and operational efficiency. The TORs of Domain Officers included ensuring implementation of all aspects of the Data Governance Policy approved by FBR, overseeing its implementation and enforcement across all data management activities, including databases, applications, software updates, modifications, and other processes; monitor and enforce that all changes to applications, database activities, and software updates comply with the Data Governance Policy, maintaining data consistency, security, and access controls and recommend third-party audits of database activities and access logs to verify compliance with the Data Governance Policy, ensuring that access controls, data manipulation, and storage practices meet the required standards. The tax officials would ensure the implementation of all aspects of the Data Governance Policy approved by FBR, overseeing its implementation and enforcement across all data management activities, including databases, applications, software updates, modifications, and other processes. They would monitor and enforce that all changes to applications, database activities, and software updates comply with the Data Governance Policy, maintaining data consistency, security, and access controls; recommend third-party audits of database activities and access logs to verify compliance with the Data Governance Policy, ensuring that access controls, data manipulation, and storage practices meet the required standards and ensure all database access is compliant with the Data Governance Policy, guaranteeing that only authorized personnel have access based on defined roles and responsibilities, and implement the principle of least privilege.