ST and IT registration certificates: FBR e-support wing fails to entertain applicants

The process of issuing sales tax and income tax registration certificates has completely been halted for months as the e-support wing, a sole responsible entity for dispatching both registrations, has failed to entertain applicants. E-support wing of the Federal Board of Revenue is not capable of dealing with both registrations, as the staffers, posted to facilitate applicants, are incompetent.
Not a single registration certificate has been dispatched for months, Khushnood A Khan, President, Karachi Sales Tax Bar Association (KSTBA) said on Monday. "The staffers have declined to entertain our telephonic complaints, bamboozling through unjustifiable answers. But now the telephone lines are dead for last two days, creating immense difficulties for complainants," he added.
To a question, he said the process of sales tax registration is still being done manually because of internal disputes between Pral and the IT department of the Board. In the past, the local collectorates were processing applications within days through Pral counters but after promulgation of combined form, the registration certificates, which are now supposed to be issued from the capital city, are not being issued even after months. Khushnood demanded of the government to reintroduce the previous system to facilitate applicants at maximum.
He said applicants were earlier allowed to make changes in their submitted forms even after getting token numbers, but now the said privilege has been withdrawn, creating problems for them. He termed the incorporation of both registrations through single entity as a premature decision, adding that the Board should unveil a comprehensive system before incorporating both registrations.