Daily Times

Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Dr. Asif Mahmood Jah said that his office was providing full services to masses as a public relief-oriented institution.

The FTO was speaking at the meeting of Advisory Committee (Central) of Federal Tax Ombudsman here at Lahore Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI). LCCI Senior Vice President Mian Rehman Aziz Chan, Vice President Haris Ateeq, former Vice President Kashif Anwar, FTO Advisors Sarfraz Warraich and Almas Ali Javinda also spoke on the occasion. Dr. Asif Mahmood Jah said that 1,900 complaints have been settled out of 2,000 received to the FTO. He said that the FTO had got abolished tax deduction on the daily wagers and contract employees’ income. He said that more than 100 persons who have served irrelevant notices by the FBR had been removed from Tier 1 and directed FBR to take action against the officers who have issued such notices.

The FTO said that they are introducing a fast system for the registration of complaints and are formulating strategies for quick resolution of tax peers’ problems. He said that the authority to issue the exclusion certificate has been given to the commissioner. Referring to the recent ban on import of luxury items, the FTO said the difficulties of importers were being reviewed. He said that the main objective of the FTO is to create facilities for the business community and for this purpose 11 offices are operational. He said that being the coordinator to FTO, LCCI Senior Vice President Mian Rehman Aziz Chan is playing a crucial role. LCCI Senior Vice President Mian Rehman Aziz Chan said that the complaints dispensability ratio by the FTO is a benchmark and the entire judicial system should follow. He said that most of the problems faced by the business community now resolved quickly because of FTO. Mian Rehman Aziz Chan said that the FTO is handling the business community in a better way. He called for change in the rules and regulations, saying that it would decrease the anomalies in budget. He said that tax net expansion is need of the hour so that we can achieve the Rs10t revenue target. LCCI Vice President Haris Ateeq said that the confidence of the business community in the FTO office was increasing.