ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has constituted a committee for the resolution of pending income tax refunds and suggested reforms for the issuance of refunds electronically.

The FBR has issued terms of reference (TORs) of the committee for electronic processing of income tax refunds.

The FBR’s notification issued on Wednesday revealed that the committee to be headed by the Chief (Revenue Operations)/CITRO, IR-Operations Wing, FBR HQ, Islamabad and comprising the following officers for effective enforcement of Section 170A of the Income Tax Ordinance,2001.

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The section 170A deals with the electronic processing and electronic issuance of Refunds by the Board. The refund amount sanctioned under this section shall be electronically transferred to the taxpayer’s notified bank account.

Arshad Nawaz Chheena, chief (Revenue Operations)/CITRO, IR Operations Wing, FBR HQ, Islamabad will be the chairman of the committee. Members of the committee included Tauqeer Ahmad, chief IR (BPR), IT Wing, FBR HQ, Islamabad; Irfan Khan, commissioner Inland Revenue, Zone-IV, large tax office (LTO), Islamabad, and Muhammad Sajid Ahmad, secretary (Income Tax Policy), IR Policy Wing, FBR HQ, Islamabad.

The committee shall suggest measures to remove inordinate delays in the issuance of pending income tax refunds and effect enforcement of section 170A of the Income Tax Ordinance,2001.

Moreover, the committee shall adhere to the TORs as mentioned in the judgment issued by the Islamabad High Court vide WP No 21731 2023 as follows: The TORs of the Refund Resolution Committee as enunciated by the Islamabad High Court shall be as follows:(i) Review and examine refund applications that have not been disposed of by field formations within the legally mandated timeframe; (ii) Committee will propose reforms aimed at eradicating the delay in processing pending refund applications.

These reforms will be based on a comprehensive analysis and will include suggestions for improving the conduct of officials, among other recommendations; (iii) Committee will additionally provide suggestions regarding prompt resolution of refund application under section 171 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 encompassing guidelines for compensation eligibility; (iv) Committee shall develop the necessary Change Request Form (CRF) blue-print for the development of essential software; and (v) Committee shall furnish its findings/recommendations within a time frame of 45 days from the issuance of this notification, the notification added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023