Revenue officers object to issuance of inspection letters by FTO

LAHORE: Revenue officers have objected to the office of the Federal Tax Ombudsman's issuance of inspection letters against individual tax officers on complaints of malpractices with corrupt motives in the discharge of duties, said sources.

They said such letters from the office of the FTO are patently illegal, arbitrary and mala fide as the FTO has no power to do so.

According to them, the FTO’s office is a complaint redressal mechanism for individual taxpayers. However, it should not be taken as an appellate authority sitting over the assessments, judgments, and orders of tax officers.

They said that controversial letters from the FTO office do not usually identify the complainants, accusations, or purpose of inspection. Instead, the core emphasis of such letters is on the investigation of any allegation of maladministration on the part of the revenue division or a tax employee.

They have continued by stating that the FTO is not a corruption watchdog or maximizer of tax revenue. They stressed that the FTO cannot exclude the availability or necessity of a written complaint while initiating an investigation under his motion. There must be something in the form of an allegation of maladministration against a tax officer published in a newspaper to act against the department under his motion, they said.

According to those objecting to the issuance of inspection letters by the office of FTO, the FTO cannot conduct fishing and roving inquiry inspections.

However, sources close to the office of FTO believe that the jurisdiction of the FTO is two-folded, including action against a complaint and suo motu initiation of action to take cognizance of corrupt affairs on the part of tax machinery. They said the FTO is an institution to act as an inquisitive body which could be requested for by any aggrieved person, superior court, President, Senate or any of its motion to investigate in response to maladministration on the part of the revenue department as a whole or as an individual tax official.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024