The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has established the National Faceless Centre in Islamabad to handle tax audits and assessments through “faceless” wings. The system is aimed at reducing official discretion and direct contact between tax officials and taxpayers.
The initiative is part of Pakistan’s New Tax Operating Model and was approved in principle by the government in June.
The centralized and faceless tax system is similar to models used in the United Kingdom, Australia, the Netherlands, Singapore and India. It is designed to reduce physical contact between tax authorities and taxpayers and help prevent corruption.
The decision to establish the National Faceless Centre was taken by the Board in Council, a body headed by the FBR chairperson, during its meeting Friday, according to an FBR statement.
The FBR described the NFC as a major reform that “changes how tax audits and assessments are carried out in Pakistan.”
Under the previous system, taxpayers whose returns were selected for audit had to deal with a specific officer at a particular office, often in person. Under the new system, this direct contact will end.
Cases will be selected through a computerized, risk-based system instead of being chosen by an individual officer. Each case will then be automatically assigned to an officer who could be working from anywhere in the country. The taxpayer will not know the officer’s identity, and the officer will have no role in selecting the case.
Each case will be handled by three different officers. One officer will conduct the audit, another will make the assessment, and a third will review the work for quality before an order is issued. No single officer will handle a taxpayer’s case from beginning to end.
All notices, replies and hearings will be conducted electronically through the FBR’s IRIS system. Where the law requires physical verification or recovery, a separate field team will carry out the work, according to the statement.
The NFC has been established under the legal authority of the Finance Act, 2026.
The center will be headed by an Inland Revenue chief commissioner and will have separate wings for faceless audit, faceless assessment, quality control and field operations. A Programme Management Unit has also been established to oversee its implementation.
“The purpose of the reform is same rules for every taxpayer, decisions based on data rather than personal judgement, and an end to the face to face contact that has long been a source of complaints. FBR expects the NFC to make tax proceedings faster, fairer and more transparent for taxpayers across Pakistan,” the statement said.
