SC’s order in refund matters: CTO Islamabad fails to submit comments before FTO

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue’s Corporate Tax Office (CTO), Islamabad has failed to timely submit comments before the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO), who is investigating the CTO for violation of binding orders passed by Supreme Court of Pakistan in tax refund related matters.

It is reliably learnt that the office of the FTO had registered ten complaints against the CTO Islamabad and issued notices to Chairman FBR and CCIR to submit comments on or before May 27, 024 on the allegations contained in the complaints but CTO, instead of furnishing reply/comment within time fixed by FTO, has filed application seeking extension in time, which is granted till June 4, 2024.

When contacted, tax lawyer Waheed Shahzad Butt informed earlier on the similar issue Peshawar High Court has frozen the salary of FBR Chairman for not submitting reply to repeated reminders in a pending tax case. The PHC issued instructions to the AGP to implement the court order.

Waheed further added that taxpayers of Pakistan expected the enforcement of law and Constitutional rights and exercise the powers conferred on FBR by the Legislature honestly in the interest of Pakistan. However, some tax officials are involved in violation of constitutional rights of the taxpayers for claiming huge rewards out of precious taxpayer’s money but they do not care to obey the orders of courts/ombudsman. Tax officials misusing the law must be removed from the services in the process of re-structuring/overhauling of FBR as ordered by the Apex authority Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).

The FTO will probe the allegations of maladministration as to why the FBR tax employees are practically involved in severe contempt of unambiguous orders passed by Superior Judiciary governing refunds. There is an urgent need to redress this crucial issue, ie, working of tax employees of FBR to play with the precious resources of national exchequer (taxpayer’s money) under the umbrella of powers available with IRS functionaries and ultimate wastage of taxpayer’s money in futile litigation.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024