The Federal Board of Revenue is planning to empower the Information Technology (IT) wing to issue notices and impose penalty on the registered persons through a centralised e-system without changes in tax laws. Sources told Business Recorder on Monday that presently commissioners and other officials in the field formations are authorised to issue notices to the taxpayers using various provisions of the tax law.
However, there is no provision in the laws to penalise taxpayers through centralised system. The Board is working on some mechanism to allow centralised IT system to automatically issue notices and impose penalty without transferring powers of commissioners to the FBR.
Presently, powers of issuing notices are available to the commissioners in the field formations. The provisions of the tax laws are required to empower the Board in doing operational work at the field formations. However, the FBR can entrust IT system the job without introducing any legal amendment for transferring powers of the chief commissioners to the Board.
Sources said that the FBR is maintaining the data of income tax returns and statements at a centralised database. The FBR can allow its IT system to exercise powers of enforcement for issuing notices and imposition of the penalties. The FBR had extensive discussions with the senior officials who opined that there is no need to transfer such operational powers to the Board. However, some other arrangement would be placed to implement this system with ample legal backing for completion of the job.
According to the FBR Action Plan-December 2010 on reforms implementation, for financial law consider to move the commissioners' powers to the Chairman. FBR's remarks are: There was consensus in the co-ordination meeting that this proposal does not seems feasible as this stage and require legislative changes, FBR added.
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