'E-filing of returns to facilitate taxpayers'

The newly-introduced system of e-filing of sales tax and federal excise directly to Central Board of Revenue (CBR) is a step forward towards facilitating the taxpayers apart from further minimising their interaction with the tax collectors.
Collector of Sales Tax & Federal Excise Lahore Muhammad Nazim Saleem stated this while giving briefing to newsmen here on Monday on the e-filing facility of returns, which has been introduced by CBR across the country from December 01.
Saleem maintained in Lahore as many as 1,650 companies including 1,500 companies registered with the Lahore collectorate and 150 registered with the Large Taxpayer Unit would be benefiting from this facility, and they would get rid of tiresome exercise of manual filing. However, this facility would be initially available to only public and private limited companies. The objective behind introducing this facility was to facilitate taxpayers and minimise their contract with the tax officials, he said.
"We have intimated through letters to the Lahore chamber of commerce and important trade bodies, besides advising the designated branches of National Bank of Pakistan about introduction of e-filing of returns from first of December", Nazim Saleem informed reporters.
About the procedure for electronic filing of returns, the collector said registered person of private / public limited company shall get a registration certificate from National Institutional Facilitation Technologies (Pvt) Ltd (Nift) by downloading and filing the digital certificate requests from website: www.nift.pk.
For the purpose of taxpayer facilitation, public and private limited companies shall file their returns including nill return online directly on the e-mail: [email protected].
The companies will firstly make payment of sales due in any designated branch of NBP offering online filing of returns against a prescribed payment challan for sales tax and TR-6 for federal excise.
Out of total 47 designated NBP branches, 24 have the online facility. The bank will issue a computerised payment receipt to the registered person. Then the computerized number will be entered on the e-return, which will be accessed and downloaded from the CBR website. CBR, on receiving the e-return, will send an electronically acknowledgement receipt to the registered person.
To a question regarding taxpayers queries about this new system, the collector said Deputy Collector Assessment & Processing Tayyaba Kayani has been assigned the task of replying queries and resolving problems, if any, relating to e-filing of returns. Moreover, he said in the light of CBR directive, a local mail operator (LMO) will also be appointed to receive queries from the registered persons in the collectorate.