90 percent relief ensured to taxpayers: FTO

Around 90 percent relief is provided to the complainants by the office of Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) to taxpayers in the appeals filed against the decisions of Income Tax, Sales Tax, Federal Excise Duty, and Custom officials. This was said by Federal Tax Ombudsman Abdur Rauf Chaudhary while addressing as chief guest at the one day "Awareness Seminar" organised by the FTO Abbottabad region on Wednesday at Officers Club.
The seminar was largely attended by different traders associations, representatives of Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Small Industrials Estates Association Abbottabad, members of the Bar Associations of Abbottabad, Haripur, office-bearers and members of Hazara Tax Bar Association, students and officials of different educational institutions and officials of Regional Tax Office Abbottabad and Smeda Hazara Region.
Briefing session was conducted by FTOs M Siddique, Abdul Khaliq, Sardar Irshad Shaheen, Ghulam Kazim Hosein and Syed Khalid Akhlaq and it was told that FTO offices all over the country were redressing the grievances and wrongdoings of the tax officials, adding it was the most effective and speedy justice delivery forum with minim hustle and costs which was to be borne by the aggrieved persons.
They briefed that participants about the salient features of the workings of the FTO office and said it not only performed duties according to the mandate but also guided the tax machinery to perform their duties by abiding the tax laws and also educate the peoples especially the business community to pay the taxes and duties.
FTO Abdur Rauf Chudhary said the ratio of presentation before President of Pakistan had been increased after the appointment of official of the rank of judge of Supreme Court in the cell at President House and had pinned hope that the backlog would be cleared shortly.
FTO said they had cut down the decision time from 60 days to 52 days as they wanted to dispose of the case at the earliest to provide early justice to aggrieved persons and merit was the basic tool for the decision of the cases, adding yearly from 1,500 to 2,000 cases were decided.