FBR urged to notify CA firms having ICAP-QCR’s ‘satisfactory’ rating

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman has been urged to immediately notify the Chartered Accountant firms having an ICAP-QCR rating of satisfactory, to smoothly recover the due taxes from developers who are obliged to submit completion certificates of real estate projects.

This is a legal requirement under section 100D of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.

Sources told Business Recorder that tax lawyer Waheed Shahzad Butt, has approached the Chairman FBR, Member Operations-IR, Member Legal, and Member Policy FBR, and states that FBR has not yet notified the list of firms of Chartered Accountants.

Developers are not in a position to submit completion certificates as per the relevant provisions of Section 100D read with 11th Schedule. Inaction on behalf of the FBR is nothing but the worst kind of maladministration of justice in terms of clause (3) of sub section (2) of Federal Tax Ombudsman Ordinance, 2000.

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In a letter to the FBR team, Butt said the FBR intentional/purposeful failure to notify the list of firms of Chartered Accountants has had severe consequences for developers across Pakistan, who are now unable to submit completion certificates as required by the legislature through Ordinance, 2001. This situation has resulted in significant uncertainty and financial losses for individuals and businesses.

The failure of the FBR to fulfill its duty to notify the list of chartered accountant firms is unacceptable and represents extreme inefficiency, incompetency, and maladministration on the part of the FBR & its core Members. This negligence is not only causing undue hardship for developers but also poses a threat to the integrity of the tax system and the National Exchequer. In the case of developers, according to sub clause (ii)(B) of clause (e) of subsection (3) of Section 100D read with sub clause (ii) of clause (e) of Rule 9 of the 11th Schedule, the completion of the project shall be certified collectively in the following manner, namely: the map approving authority or NESPAK shall certify that landscaping has been completed on or before the 30th day of September, 2023 and a firm of chartered accountants having an ICAP QCR rating of satisfactory, notified by the Board for this purpose, shall certify that at least 50% of the plots have been booked for sale and at least 40% of the sale proceeds have been received by the 30th day of September, 2023 and at least 50% of the roads have been laid up to sub-grade level as certified by the approving authority of NESPAK.

It is imperative that the FBR upholds its responsibilities and takes proactive measures to address this issue promptly and issue notification, Waheed added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024