The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has established a National Faceless Centre (NFC) in Islamabad to introduce a new digital system for tax audits and assessments. The initiative aims to reduce direct interaction between taxpayers and tax officers while making the tax process more transparent and technology-driven.

Under the new system, tax cases will be selected through a computerised, risk-based mechanism instead of being chosen at the discretion of individual officers. Once a case is selected, it will be automatically assigned to an officer anywhere in Pakistan.

Taxpayers will not be informed about the identity of the officer handling their case. Similarly, the assigned officer will have no role in selecting the case, reducing the possibility of direct influence during the selection process.

FBR Establishes National Faceless Centre for Digital Tax Audits and Assessments

The new procedure will also divide the handling of each case into three separate stages. One officer will conduct the audit, another will handle the assessment, while a third officer will review the case for quality and procedural compliance before the final order is issued.

This separation is designed to ensure that no single officer has complete control over a case from beginning to end. The FBR says the arrangement will help improve oversight and promote greater consistency in tax proceedings.

All notices, responses and hearings under the new system will be conducted electronically through the FBR’s IRIS system. However, physical verification and recovery activities that are required under the law will continue to be carried out separately by field teams.

The National Faceless Centre has been established under the legal framework provided by the Finance Act 2026. It includes separate divisions responsible for faceless audits, faceless assessments, quality control and field operations.

According to the FBR, the reforms are aimed at promoting data-driven decision-making, uniform procedures, and greater transparency in tax administration. By reducing direct contact between taxpayers and tax officials, the new system is also intended to make tax proceedings more structured and less dependent on individual discretion.

The establishment of the National Faceless Centre marks another step toward the digital transformation of Pakistan’s tax administration. The FBR expects the system to improve the way tax cases are selected, processed, and reviewed while creating a more standardised process for taxpayers across the country.