Although the federal government extended on Sunday the deadline of the Assets Declaration Scheme to July 3, the tax consultants have strongly objected to the government's move of online uploading data of citizens and demanded manual system for the filing of documents in place as well.
A tax consultant told Business Recorder on Sunday that they are experiencing severe hardships in fulfilling/submitting and uploading data of citizens on the Federal Board of Revenue's website. "Till date, the government has given us only two online methods for the filing but there is no manual system. For a couple of days, the entire community of the tax consultants is very upset as the web portal of the FBR is not working properly and the clients are also disturbed," regretted the consultant.
Besides the online system, the government should also introduce a manual filing system so that the burden on the FBR website could be reduced, he suggested. "On average, the filing of a single application takes up to three hours which is a major cause of concern for both the applicant and the professionals. The current system is against the concept of ease of doing business," he remarked.
Responding to a query, another consultant said they observed a positive response in the market as many people are approaching them for getting themselves registered with the FBR. "Many people are showing their interest in the amnesty scheme and the online system is not strong enough to bear the burden. There should be a manual system as well," he observed.
It may be noted that the deadline extension comes barely a day after a statement issued by the FBR denied that there would an extension in the scheme. Giving reason behind the extension on Sunday, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh said there's been a lot of interest in the scheme.
After the July 3, the benami commission, that currently looking after the benami properties, will come into action. It will be a final opportunity to take advantage of the scheme as some people are still in the process or are facing difficulties. The deadline had been extended to banking office hours on July 3, added Sheikh.