FTO Office Decides 7,500 Complaints In Favour Of Complainants: Adviser

FAISALABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Jun, 2023 ) :Adviser to Office of the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Chaudhry Ashfaq Ahmad said on Friday that 8,000 complaints were received, and out of which 7,500 were decided in favour of the complainants.

Addressing an awareness session on 'Role and mandate of FTO', at Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FCCI) , he said the organisation was discharging its responsibilities prudently and most of the complaints are redressed within 45 days instead of prescribed 60 days. He expressed surprise that Faisalabad office had receiving minimum number of complaints as compared to the Khirpur (Sindh) and the objective to visit Faisalabad was to give much needed awareness to the taxpayers about the role of FTO office in redressing their genuine complaints regarding income tax, sales tax, federal excise duty and customs.

He said the complaints lodged with the department were resolved free and in a most fair and transparent manner. He said that 90pc complaints have been decided in favour of the applicants and people must avail of this opportunity. He particularly mentioned the case of imported soybean and ad hoc teachers, who were subjected to 20pc deduction in their salary in the name of service charges. He said that the FTO office intervened and resolved these issues spontaneously.

Responding to a question that taxpayers are generally aversive of making complaints against FBR to avoid any complication in future. He said that such cases could also be again brought into the notice of FTO to get their legitimate rights.

He said that a major issue confronted by local businessmen is their refund cases and due to the intervention of FTO, refund claims to the tune of Rs. 7 billion were paid on priority basis. He requested the participants to come out from the cocoon of fear and bring the complaints of maladministration into the notice of FTO so that their legitimate rights could be protected.

Earlier, Dr Sajjad Arshad, Senior Vice President FCCI, in his address of welcome, said that the economy was in a shambles, but existing taxpayers are being harassed with repeated notices by the tax authorities. He appreciated the gesture of the FTO office to organise this awareness session and said that it would play a major role in educating taxpayers to resolve their issues without hiring the service of any lawyer. He said that the members who are reluctant to file complaints against tax authorities could submit their individual and collective issues through FCCI.

Dr Sajjad Arshad said that information about the efficacy of FTO could be uploaded on the website of FCCI. Vice President Haji Muhammad Aslam Bhalli, Executive Members Haji Gulzar Ahmad, Maqsood Akhtar Butt, Haji Abdul Rauf, Khadim Hussain Maan, Sohail Butt, and Sheikh Muhammad Fazil took part in the question- answer session. Mr. Mansoor Ahmad from the office of FTO also explained the implementation procedure on the recommendations of the FTO.