Lahore LTU becomes operational

Punjab governor Lieutenant-General Khalid Maqbool (Retd) has commended efforts of the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) toward facilitating taxpayers in many ways and observed that the most remarkable part of reforms being undertaken by the CBR is positive change in the attitude of officials. He was addressing the inauguration ceremony of second Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) of the country, established inside main building of the Income Tax house, here on Thursday.
CBR chairman Abdullah Yousuf, Federal Tax Ombudsman former Justice Munir A. Shaikh, LTU director-general Hussain Ahmed Sherazi, regional commissioner of income tax Haji Ahmed, LTU commissioner Afzal Naubahar Kayani, senior officials and representatives of business community were also present on the occasion.
"The positive improvement, which I have personally observed in the CBR is a pleasant change in the attitude of officials, which should be acknowledged."
He also commended efforts of the CBR in enhancing revenue collection and said a few years ago, revenue collection was not more than Rs 350 billion, but now, we are talking of Rs 700 billion.
He said the government has already taken a number of concrete steps and given many concessions and exemptions in taxes and duties and even zero-rated some big sectors, which is beyond imagination.
Even in India, there is no zero-rated concept in taxation. Now country's economy is growing and every one is making a lot of money; whether it is capital market or real estate business, he said.
Today, he added, a lot of jobs are available for hardworking persons in the country because economy is growing, while only 1.16 million people are paying taxes.
I personally know three big establishments where the business volume ranges between 1.5-2 billion rupees but they pay only Rs 170 million as taxes.
He said, now the CBR is undertaking a pro-business and business-friendly policies, therefore, it is his request to people to pay taxes and contribute toward the national economy.
Later, answering newsmen's questions, Khalid said recent move of the government slashing taxes in the federal budget would yield positive results and ultimately reduce prices of essentials.
To a question about any possibility of raise in power tariff, he said it was also on the rise in India. India has recently increased electricity charges by 10 percent.
Addressing on the occasion, CBR chairman Abdullah Yousuf said this is the second LTU after Karachi and is also in continuation of the CBR efforts to reform the tax department.
He said work on the third LTU was underway in Islamabad and it would start functioning soon. Moreover, we will have a total of 12 regional tax offices (RTOs) in the country, wherein, facilities relating to three major taxes, ie, sales tax, income tax and central excise duty will be made available under one roof, he added.
He said MTUs in Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi and Rawalpindi are already functioning, while one each MTU will be established in Quetta and Faisalabad. These will be upgraded to RTOs while six new RTOs will be established in other big cities.
With the establishment of these RTOs, taxpayers will not necessarily be required to visit these offices. They might approach officers through mail or fax massages.
The feature of this system is that when a particular case is selected, complete history of that particular case automatically displays on the computer screen, he pointed out.
"In this region, we are leading in many ways."
The CBR has started self-assessment scheme, which has reasonably proved to be a very good step. Similarly, the government has decided to zero rate five big sectors, including textile sector, which will also overcome the problem of refund claims.
Because of this, around Rs 4 billion will come into circulation, he claimed. Another initiative taken by the CBR is introduction of CARE system, which has been started in Karachi as a pilot project. It is a latest system for clearance of goods, which will reduce the time of clearance from days to hours.
It is an efficient and transparent system, which will remove many lacunas in the old system, he added.
"If we have to sustain our growth we will have to ensure adequate investment, whether it is local or foreign, and to achieve this goal, we need to provide a conducive and business-friendly environment to investors," Yousuf further stated. With this mindset, the CBR is trying to improve the system and facilitate taxpayers to the maximum, he added.
Earlier, in his address of welcome, LTU director-general Hussain Ahmed Sherazi presented a brief introduction of the LTU and shed light upon its organisational setup, jurisdiction and working.
He said as many as 200 big cases have been selected for handling at the LTU. Its jurisdiction comprises financial institutions, non-residents large textiles, cement, sugar and fertiliser units having their registered offices in Lahore.