FBR orders electronic monitoring of tea industry

The Federal Board of Revenue has ordered registered tea makers and packers to install electronic production monitoring by Dec 10, Dawn reported. Each retail pack must be recorded before leaving the factory, with barcode scanners and counting sensors capturing output and sending it to the FBR in real time.

The requirement covers tea manufacturers, blenders, toll and contract packers, and a range of products from tea bags to instant tea and premixes. The FBR named 14 registered businesses and has also required each distinct brand, blend, weight and packaging type to carry a unique machine-readable barcode; manufacturers have 15 days from the order to ensure products are barcoded. The monitoring drive forms part of efforts to address a sales tax collection gap exceeding Rs3 trillion.