Regional income tax officials have failed to take action against the defaulting withholding agents, who are neither filing statements nor depositing the collected tax in the national exchequer.
Sources told Business Recorder on Thursday that the Chairman, FBR M. Abdullah Yusuf, during the National Tax Conference had expressed his displeasure with the field formations' for not taking any action against the defaulting withholding agents.
The FBR Chairman has directed the regional commissioners and director generals regional tax offices (RTOs) for initiating action against the defaulters withholding agents. The board had repeatedly issued instructions to the field formations to strictly monitor the banking companies, financial institutions, foreign exchange dealers, consortiums/co-operative societies and other withholding agents entrusted to collect/deduct tax under the Income Tax Ordinance 2001.
The board had deputed tax officials to identify withholding agents who failed to collect tax, but it seemed that no further action has been taken yet. Secondly, tax authorities were also unhappy over the slow progress on e-filing of income tax statements by the corporate sector. This is weak area that needs to be addressed on top priory basis, sources said.
Meanwhile, FBR Chairman urged the tax managers to work with full devotion and dedication and adopt professional approach in achieving the targets assigned to them for 2007-2008. In his concluding remarks, FBR Chairman said that there was a need to tap the huge revenue potential, which exists in various sectors of the economy to get the desired results.
He directed the tax officials to conduct a comprehensive study of all the manufacturing and industrial units, functioning in their areas of jurisdiction, and come up with a reliable data with regards to their tax potential. "You can confront the non-taxpayers or short-filers on the basis of authentic information," he added.
Lauding the IT officers for achieving unprecedented growth in collection of direct taxes in last financial year, he expressed the confidence that they would work with the same missionary zeal to achieve the goals of enhancing tax-to-GDP ratio and broadening tax base.