6,500 Complaints Of Taxpayers Resolved During Last Year: Tax Ombudsman

Record 7,000 complaints were filed with the office of Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) during the last year, out of which 6,500 were resolved and relief was provided to the taxpayers in more than 90% cases, said FTO Dr. Asif Mahmood Jah (Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Hilal-i-Imtiaz)

FAISALABAD, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Jan, 2023 ) :Record 7,000 complaints were filed with the office of Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) during the last year, out of which 6,500 were resolved and relief was provided to the taxpayers in more than 90% cases, said FTO Dr. Asif Mahmood Jah (Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Hilal-i-Imtiaz).

Addressing the business community in Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry (FCCI), he said that this institution was created in 2000 but its outreach remained very restricted due to different reasons. He said that prior to his appointment, five Ombudsmen were appointed out of which two belonged to the judiciary, two to the police service and one hailed from the DMG. However, in 2020 the government decided that the next ombudsman should belong to the tax department fully conversant with its intricacies.

Dr. Asif said that earlier maximum 2,500 complaints were filed every year which had now jumped to 7,000. He said that FTO was making serious efforts to facilitate the taxpayers as now they considered it as a business friendly organization. He further said that although a limit of 60 days had been fixed to resolve the complaints, the average time period during his tenure remained 40 days. He also mentioned the Alternate Dispute Resolution Committee (ADRC) under section 33 of the ordinance and said that he had been playing a proactive role and the taxpayers' cases were resolved in hours. He said that business coordinators had been nominated in addition to the establishment of the FTO desks in major chambers of the country. "It inspired taxpayers to contact business coordinators which are from among them to freely and frankly discuss issues and get it resolved at the earliest", he said.

Responding to a question, he said that although he had been mandated to deal with the cases of the maladministration, he also preferred to recommend cases in which policy interventions were required. He said that FTO was not only resolving the taxpayer's cases but was also pursuing these till the implementation of his decisions.

Dr. Asif said that he had already directed the concerned FBR formations not to detain duty paid goods on way to their destinations or in godowns. "This circular would also be reissued to ensure strict implementation of this directive", he added. About the prevailing circumstances, he was optimistic that the prevailing situation would start improving by the month of June.

Earlier Dr. Khurram Tariq President FCCI welcomed the FTO and pointed out the collective issues of the business community. He appreciated the role of Tax Ombudsman but stressed a comprehensive awareness campaign to educate and motivate the taxpayers about the importance of this institution.

Dr. Khurram Tariq also stressed the need for a new social contract between the taxpayers and tax collectors. He also appreciated the bold decision of the FTO regarding the clearance of imported soybean seed.

A documentary on the overall performance of FTO was screened while a question answer session was also held. Later Senior Vice President Dr. Sajjad Arshad offered a vote of thanks while President Dr. Khurram Tariq presented a memento to the FTO Dr. Asif Mahmood Jah.