New audit policy for sales tax approved

CBR Member, Sales Tax, Shahid Ahmed has said the government has approved the new audit policy for conducting sales tax audit of registered units, introducing a new simplified and taxpayers-friendly system. While addressing the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) on Thursday, he said laws were being made to simplify the sales tax procedure. While ruling out abolition of field audit completely, he said the new audit policy had been approved under which procedure has been made simple.
"Audit system is being developed gradually. A number of steps including education of auditors are being taken and the day is not far when the audit would be no more an irritant," Shahid Ahmed added.
He pointed out that the CBR is making efforts to expand the sales tax net. In this regard, it is persuading manufacturers to get registered with the sales tax department and subsequently convince their dealers, distributors and other stakeholders to joint the net.
He said the Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) concept has been introduced to resolve all outstanding issues of taxpayers and most of its decisions are satisfactory for complainants.
He asked the RCCI to nominate its members for the ADR so that a similar set up in Rawalpindi could start proceedings.
He added that the outdated Excise Act 1944 was being replaced soon in which excise laws would be made simple and unnecessary irritants in the procedure would be removed.
RCCI president Najam Rehan has said recent reforms in the CBR have facilitated taxpayers a lot.
While welcoming the CBR Member, Sales tax and Central Excise here in the Chamber House, Najam said field audit system for sales tax should either be removed or restricted to the input, following precedents of suspension of internal audit.
The Member Sales Tax visited the chamber to discuss taxation problems with industrialists and traders of the region.
He was accompanied by Collector, Sales Tax, Nadir Khan Hoti and other high officials of the department.
Besides others, RCCI vice-president Syed Asad Mashadi and RCCI standing committee on sales tax chairman Javed Akhtar Bhatti were also present on the occasion.
Najam Rehan in his welcome address also sought reduction in the tax rate which, he said, was very high at 15 percent. He said the CBR should pay special attention to traders' concerns seeking refund of sales tax.
Najam proposed 'no-tax, no-refund scheme' for exporters. He strongly advocated the expansion in the sales tax net, saying less than 100,000 people were registered in sales tax net against 1,500,000 in income tax.
He said the sales tax on raw material of medicine manufacturing should be abolished as no tax is being charged on medicines.