ISLAMABAD: President Arif Alvi has said that Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has full authority to initiate an investigation into the alleged misconduct of any FBR official under suo motu notice.

President Arif Alvi has rejected 6 documents presented by Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and confirmed the orders of Federal tax Ombudsman regarding investigation against tax officials.

According to media report, Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has directed FBR to take steps in the light of information issued by office of Federal Tax Ombudsman regarding results of immediate investigation regarding 6 cases.

Chief Commissioner LTO Islamabad has been directed to identify and point out the officers responsible for reduction in collection due to unnecessary and unjustified delay. FTO Secretariat was informed with evidence that lack of proper follow up by FBR officials, frequent transfers and changes in scope were not achieving the desired results.

An analysis by FTO Secretariat revealed that FBR has adopted all modern methods including proper data base and web portal.

However adequate steps have not been taken regarding comprehensive communication and coordination with officers deployed and mobilized for tax collection. It has been also stated that FBR headquarters and other formations have not arranged tracking system under modern IT facilities to regularly review the performance of officers. In most cases, adequate performance is not possible.

FTO Secretariat also comes to know that investigation reports and case studies of few cases of alleged tax evasion were prepared and shared by directorate related to Broadening of Tax Base (BTB).

Valuable information was shared in December 2018 to take steps against tax evasion but the concerned officers could not do their part properly. In 2019, the FBR administration shut down the BTB system overnight, resulting in the elimination of BTB zones in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.

The office of Directorate General BTB has been made a mere exhibition status with additional charge. Thus an important and effective institution was abolished and very useful material and information were suddenly removed.

According to FTO Secretariat, the irresponsible behavior of FBR clearly reflects mismanagement, inattention, negligence, delay, incompetence and inappropriateness.

To prepare an error-free case, the FTO Secretariat obtained information from the International Aid Transparency Initiative on gross receipts from the concerned companies and compared them with the receipts under the tax returns.

The analysis revealed large-scale tax evasion by the concerned enterprises. A detailed analysis was sent to the department so that the receivables could be rectified. It was also not known what progress was made after the closure of the BTB office. The FBR has to submit a report explaining its position to the FTO Secretariat within 90 days.

Published in The Daily National Courier, December, 23 2023

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