LAHORE: Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Dr Asif Mehmood Jah has said that his office has provided relief to more than 1900 taxpayers in the last five months which is almost double as compared to the same period last year.

He said that the proposals of the pre-budget meeting convened by the FTO a few months back had been forwarded to the FBR and other concerned agencies on which progress was made. It is expected that suggestions of traders and industrialists will be included in the next budget this year, he added.

Dr Jah further said that his suggestions for reforming the tax system would be incorporated in the budget. The FBR has also issued SRO on suggestions regarding reduction of difficulties in steel sector, he added. He was addressing a pre-budget seminar of the Central Advisory Committee at Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

According to him, income tax on daily wagers with an annual income of Rs600,000 has been abolished. Also, he said, he had also directed the FBR to withdraw irrelevant notices to 100 persons as Tier-1 retailers. “I have further directed the FBR to take action against the officers who had issued such notices,” he added.

Dr Jah said the office of FTO was introducing simple and expeditious solutions for registration complaints and formulating strategies for speedy resolution of taxpayers’ problems. Due to these efforts, he said, the FBR has given the authority to issue exclusion certificate to the Commissioner through DG Point of Sale. Referring to the recent ban on imports of luxury goods, the FTO said it was reviewing the difficulties faced by importers.

Senior Vice President of the chamber Rehman Aziz Chan said the confidence of business community in the FTO office has increased manifold since Dr Jah has assumed this office. He urged the government to reduce turnover tax in the upcoming budget.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022