Audit & Inspection" department was being established in Federal Board of Revenue on the pattern of NAB to purge the FBR of corruption.
"There is no room for high-handedness and harassment in the department," said the Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue, Regional Tax Office Multan Saleem Raza Asif speaking at a meeting of Multan Chamber of Commerce & Industry that was chaired by its President Fareed Mughis Sheikh.
Saleem Raza Asif said that meetings of an Advisory Committee comprising representatives of the MCCI and Regional Tax Office (RTO) Multan would be held regularly after Eid-ul-Fitr to facilitate taxpayers, avoid any element of harassment in business community and to improve tax revenue.
"The said Committee should hold monthly meetings to analyse development and address problems of businessmen with focal person from MCCI," he proposed saying that the RTO in collaboration with the MCCI wanted to resolve the issues of manufacturers, industrialists /professionals amicably for tax compliance. He assured that all refund claims would be paid in next financial year.
He said the MCCI would be taken on board for addressing business community concerns about tax matters. He said honest officers had been brought in the RTO Multan and they had been instructed to deal with taxpayers courteously to ensure their dignity. If any tax officer found involved in corruption, he will not be spared, he warned.
"Tax refund matters are being streamlined with automation of system and refund cases will now be disposed off within 45 days," he said adding the government was committed to improve tax-to-GDP ratio to 10.2 % as without tax revenue, no country could grow and develop.
Saleem Raza Asif said many registered taxpayers in Multan region were not filing tax returns and emphasised that the MCCI should play its positive role for tax compliance by all entrepreneurs who were capable to pay tax. He stressed that MCCI should help FBR in identifying new taxpayers so that with joint efforts, we could improve tax revenue.
In his welcome address, Fareed Mughis Sheikh, President, Multan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (MCCI) said businessmen regularly pay tax to strengthen the economy and ready to collaborate with FBR for enhancing tax-to-GDP ratio. However, he stressed that government should ensure transparent utilisation of tax revenue.
"Tangible measures to bring improvement in people life with tax money will help restore the confidence of taxpayers and result in better tax compliance," he said urging thee government to develop a fair taxation system as current tax system was quite discriminatory.
The MCCI President said that despite facing energy crisis and other problems, industry was contributing 66%t share in tax revenue while its share in the GDP was 26 percent. On the other hand, agriculture with 21% share in the GDP was paying less than 1% in terms of tax revenue. He said all exemptions should be eliminated and every taxable income should be brought into the tax net to improve tax revenue of the country.
"The delay in issuance of exemption certificates must be ended and one-window process must be introduced," he demanded. He urged that the department should properly intimate the tax payers in case of any change in jurisdiction and all hurdles in revision of Income tax and sales tax returns be removed. He said that blacklisting, suspension of registration of tax payers became a way of blackmailing.
"Self-assessment scheme of the FBR has helped in improving tax revenue and no measures should be taken that create any harassment in businessmen," he emphasised.
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