ISLAMABAD: Following intervention of the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO), the Federal Cabinet has restored 25 percent income tax rebate to teachers, facilitating teachers’ community across the country.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday at the FTO Headquarters, Khalid Javed, Registrar to FTO and Amas Ali Jovindah, Advisor Legal & Media Wing said that over 5,000 complaints of teachers on the issue of rebate has been decided by the FTO. The decision of the Federal Cabinet will facilitate teachers on national level.
FTO Advisor Legal stated that teachers’ tax rebate at 25 percent remained admissible over decades i.e. ever since the promulgation of Income Tax Ordinance 2001. Due to the presence of above referred provision on the statute, this forum received a huge number of complaints which runs into multiple of thousands.
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Jovindah stated that main grievances of these complaints were extra ordinary delays and not allowing the resultant claim of refunds based on the tax rebate.
Mostly, the Salary Disbursing Authorities/ Withholding Authorities over deducted tax at source from the salary payments without having regard to the tax rebate at 25%.
Accordingly, recommendations in thousands of cases were made with the directions to the tax department/FBR Field Offices to allow refunds based on teachers tax rebate at 25%. However of late, in November, 2024, FBR made public that teachers rebate at 25% had been omitted vide Finance Act, 2022 and as such it was not admissible in the tax year 2023 & 2024, and thereafter.
In this background the FTO Secretariat took cognizance of the issue and it surfaced up in the light of accompanying facts of issue, that the teachers rebate was still applicable, available to the teachers’ community. Resultantly, the FTO Secretariat kept deciding the complaints filed by teachers’ community by considering the teachers rebate as admissible.
The FTO Secretariat also took up the matter with the FBR management through letters by highlighting all the chronological developments and legal position of the issue. Meanwhile, the number of complaints on this issue kept piling up. The FTO Secretariat continuously interacted with the FBR through letters as well as through its orders, Jovindah maintained.
However, now it is matter of much satisfaction that FBR took this mater seriously and the Federal Cabinet has restored the teachers rebate at 25%.
This Forum has played a very crucial and important role in the resolution of this issue and also in bringing clarity to the current admissibility of the same, as in the past years.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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