ISLAMABAD: Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has promptly resolved 12,941 complaints filed by taxpayers against the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) during 2024 against highest number of 13,506 complaints received during this period.
Senior FTO officials informed media here on Wednesday that the number of complaints filed against the FBR remained highest during 2024. This record number of 13,506 complaints has been received by the FTO office during 2024.
In this regard, during last calendar year ending December 31, 2024, FTO office received all time high number of complaints at 13,506.
Simultaneously, FTO Secretariat, and all Regional Offices disposed of 12,914complaints, which works out for 95.6% of total complaints. This all time high number of complaints is due to vigorous awareness sessions conducted by the FTO and his Advisors throughout the country. The Chambers of Commerce & Industries of all big cities, Tax Bar Associations, business community Associations and Tax law practicing bodies were targeted to disseminate information about the role and functions of FTO organisation, which resulted into this colossal number of complaints.
As a result of outreach and awareness sessions, a record number of complaints and decisions of FTO were rolled out. Resultantly, grievances of thousands of Complainants were redressed.
During the year under consideration, in addition to regular complaints, the FTO also encouraged poor and less privileged Complainants for informal resolution of their grievances. “As such we received 1540 informal complaints and the same were resolved. In addition to that we received 143 reference cases which were also disposed of. The total number of Own Motion initiatives stood at 32 through which relief was granted to large number of Complainants/ individuals.”
Since FTO organisation is a relief-oriented entity; therefore, this Secretariat provided relief to low paid employees by holding proper taxation of the same. In addition, thousands of Folk Artists were provided relief by ameliorating the situation in the then ongoing withholding taxes. Similarly, relief on account of tax rebate to teachers, in the relevant year, were also provided in a large number of cases, FTO officials added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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