DGI&I detects huge variation: number of newly registered taxpayers against NTNs issued

The Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation Inland Revenue (IR) has detected huge variation in the number of newly registered rich persons and national tax numbers (NTNs) allocated to them by the Regional Tax Offices (RTOs), reflecting distortions in database maintained at the level of the field formations.
Sources told Business Recorder here on Sunday that the RTOs have confused the Directorate General of I&I as there is a difference between the number of new taxpayers booked from July 1, 2011 to date and the numbers of NTNs allocated to them in the field formations. The FBR data showed that the RTOs took 75,708 new taxpayers into the tax net from July 1, 2011 to date, and allocated 51,513 NTNs to the newly registered persons, reflecting a variation of 24,195 persons. This variation of 24,195 NTNs shows that the figure of newly booked taxpayers ie 75,708 may have not been correctly reported by the RTOs.
Another assumption is that the figure of allocated NTNs to 51,513 persons is not correct as per data of the RTOs. However, there is a visible discrepancy in the data of newly registered taxpayers transmitted by the RTOs to the FBR's Directorate of I&I IR. The data of the RTOs also specified that total 61,707 new persons had been booked during the documentation exercise up to June 30, 2011. On the other hand, the RTOs brought 75,708 persons within the documented regime from July 1, 2011 to date. Interestingly, NTNs were issued to 51,513 persons against the figures of 61,707 (up to June 30, 2011) and 75,708 persons from July 1, 2011 to date. This has created further confusion for the directorate to ascertain whether the 51,513 NTNs have been allocated against figures of newly registered 61,707 persons (up to June 30, 2011) or 75,708 persons from July 1, 2011 to date. If the 51,513 NTNs have been allocated against newly booked 61,707 taxpayers (up to June 30, 2011), the data from July 1, 2011 to date seemed to be not correct.
Contrary to this, if the 51,513 NTNs have been issued against 75,708 persons booked from July 1, 2011 to date, the earlier figure of 61,707 newly registered persons seemed to be not correct. Against both figures of newly registered persons of 61,707 (up to June 30, 2011) and 75,708 persons (from July 1, 2011 to date), the allocation of NTNs stood at 51,513. Due to this confusion, the RTOs data of returns filed by the newly registered persons, assessments finalised, demand created and collection made against the taxpayers need to be again verified by the field formations.
The data of the RTOs is also not reflecting the realistic picture of performance towards the achievement of the Broadening of Tax Base (BTB) targets during current fiscal, sources said.
Out of 75,708 new persons brought into the documented regime during July 1, 2011 to date, RTOs have enforced income tax returns by 10,281 newly documented persons during the period under review. During this period, the RTOs have completed income tax assessments against 8,699 persons under section 122C of the Income Tax Ordinance 2011, sources added.
According to the latest FBR's instructions issued to the field formations, the performance update provided by the Chief Commissioners (consolidated figures during the recently concluded Chief Commissioners 'conference (November, 22, 2011) does not reflect the true picture of performance towards the achievement of the BTB targets during the current year. As could be noted from data of the RTOs, the position gets quite confused from NTNs allocation to new taxpayers as it remains ambiguous whether the figures therein reflect performance with respect to number of cases booked up to June 30, 2011 or number of cases booked from July , 2011 to date. Resultantly, performance towards the achievement of the BTB targets for the current financial year could not be ascertained with certainty, FBR directive said.
In order to obtain a true picture of the performance towards the achievement of BTB targets during the current financial year, and demarcate it from the efforts directed towards this end in the previous year, a revised 'Pro forma' is designed which is attached with the FBR's instructions to the RTOs. It is requested that updated position of the performance towards the achievement of the BTB targets upto November 30, 2011 should be provided to this Directorate General on top priority basis. Due cognisance is requested to be taken of the fact that BTB performance is personally monitored by the Finance Minister and Chairman of FBR, therefore no delay should be made in providing the requested information, the FBR's instructions to the RTOs added.