LAHORE: Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Dr Asif Mahmood Jah has directed Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Lahore to inform telephonically about sanctioning of pending refund amount of 89-year-old taxpayer and due amount should be credited to his given account as a token of respect to a senior citizen.

Muhammad Saleem, the complainant, had approached the FTO against delay in disposal of refund application for tax period 2015-2021.

He had taken the plea of being a senior citizen, urging the FTO to take action against the department’s failure to process his refund claims. The complaint was forwarded to the secretary revenue division and the department responded through parawise comments, contending that supporting documents for verification of tax payment were not provided, therefore, a notice under section 170(4) of the Ordinance was issued requiring certain information from the complainant for processing his refund claim.

According to the FTO, it was found during the perusal of the record that taxpayer was 89-year-old senior citizen, having applied for clearance of his refund claims. Therefore, the FTO has asked the FBR to direct the Chief Commissioner RTO Lahore to help the complainant in provision and furnishing of essential documents and personal attendance of the complainant must be excused during refund proceedings. It has further sought disposal of the refund claims for tax years 2015 to 2021 expeditiously, preferably within 15 days in accordance with law. Sanctioning of the due refund must be informed telephonically and due amount should be credited to his given account as a token of respect to a senior citizen of the country. A compliance of the order has been sought within 30 days.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022