ISLAMABAD - Federal Board of Revenue Friday powered Income Tax Commissioners to ask big wholesale and retail dealers to use electronic tax register in order to have accurate information about their sales and minimize tax evasions. "The move is aimed to curb underreporting of sales by wholesale and retail dealers", said FBR Chief Spokesman. He said these people were doing millions of rupees business but not reflecting it on income tax and sales tax returns. An FBR notification authorizes Income Tax Commissioners to require any person to install and use an electronic tax register of such type and description as may be prescribed for the purpose of storing and accessing information regarding any transaction that had a bearing on the tax liability of such person.   "This provision of law is an important step towards the documentation of our economy and now the sale transactions of big retailers and wholesalers may be audited for the taxation of their income", says FBR. This provision will not only help to assess the real tax liability of a person but will also reduce the discretion of the Dept which may be used for assessing such sale transactions by bald estimation. For the above purpose operational legal provisions were also required which have been incorporated in the Income Tax Rules, 2002 through SRO No.895, prescribing the modus operandi of installation, use, identification number, maintenance, and inspection by the tax authority of the Electronic Tax Register (ETR).           The new rules bind the big wholesale and retail dealers to install the Electronic Tax Register (ETR) within seven days of its authentication by the Commissioner holding jurisdiction over such case and obtain a register identification number (RIN) for permanent affixture on the Electronic Tax Register. The rules further describe that in case of non-availability of the electronic tax register for use, the sales may be recorded with the use of a substitute electronic tax register, duly authenticated by the Commissioner. The taxpayers are required to prepare a daily and a monthly accounting report containing the information and they have to ensure that the electronic tax register operates correctly with particular regard to correct programming of the names of goods and services and the correct allocation of their tax rates. The wholesalers and retailers have to produce the electronic tax register for inspection on demand and ensure the inspection of the electronic tax register before the authorized service management after six months. They will have to maintain copies of electronic tax register reports for a period of five years and produce the same for inspection by the Commissioner whenever required to do so. Moreover, they will be bound to safely keep the electronic tax register ledger in the electronic tax register's casing and produce it whenever required by the Commissioner to do so; and ensure the inspection before further use of an electronic register, which has been or is suspected to have been interfered or tampered with.