The Federal Board of Revenue is using the pirated edition of the software named VMware, the infringement of intellectual property rights has led the tax authority to buy the software.
As per reports, the software is used in Pakistan’s Web-based One Customs (WeBOC) and e-filing of income tax returns.
The agenda of the recent meeting of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Alice Wells was to identify the government departments violating the basic intellectual property rights (IPR).
FBR officials have convinced the US authorities that the software will be purchased for use in WeBOC through proper channels.
The illegal use of VMware can lead to major issues like:
- Breached security of the whole system;
- Unauthorized access to the stored data.
Officials have confirmed that the software provided by the vendor was embedded in different programmes and the issue was unknown to the FBR authorities. After the US authorities’ warning, The FBR has requested its IT team to start working on other options.
