ISLAMABAD: The Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has received a total of 335 complaints of aggrieved taxpayers who could not avail Assets Declaration Scheme 2019 despite payment of due taxes before the deadline.

The Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has already started investigation of pending cases. In this regard, the last hearing was held on July 2, 2020, which was attended by senior officials of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

FTO has taken notice of the Tax Amnesty Scheme 2019 in respect of declarants who deposited the tax within the due date, but were denied to avail the scheme.

In a formal complaint filed by 335 aggrieved persons with the FTO, the complainants claim that they could not declare assets due to failure of the online system of the FBR in spite the fact that they had paid the tax.

The ombudsman has started investigation and intends to resolve the long awaited issue, which has created anxiety among the aggrieved taxpayers. During investigation, the FTO also heard the viewpoint of FBR members Inland Revenue (Operations), Legal, Information Technology, and Inland Revenue (Policy).

During the meeting, the FBR officials claimed that FBR's online system was intact till the last minute. Different aspects of the issue were discussed during the meeting of FBR senior officials with FTO.

Members of Pakistan Tax Bar Association and representatives of the business community had also lodged the complaint before the FTO. The association claims that the prime purpose of the amnesty scheme was to broaden the tax net, documentation of the economy and to revive the tax system.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020