The filing of revised income tax returns under Universal Self Assessment Scheme (USAS) would not be considered as a criterion for selection of cases for field audit of medium and small taxpayers. Sources told Business Recorder on Monday that the taxpayers should not be afraid of revising the returns, if required.
This revision has not been incorporated in the selection parameters for field audit. However, if anything unusual has been detected during desk audit of revised returns, further scrutiny may be required. Desk audit is being carried out using the information available with the Regional Tax Office/department.
If a taxpayer thinks that a major portion of his income was not specified in the return, or he had claimed excessive expenses, he can revise the return. But this change in the revised return would not be considered as a big mistake. The FBR would issue letters to the taxpayers to rectify small mistakes in returns minimising direct interaction.
The main reason for field audit is to detect those potential taxpayers who have been deliberately paying very little amount as taxes as compared to amount due. Others conceal their income, or persistently declare losses, to evade the authorities, violating rules and regulations, sources said.
The board has developed a computer software to document the performance of sales tax auditors auditing medium and small taxpayers on daily basis. Auditors would be bound to submit their daily performance, which cannot be changed. The FBR Audit, Direct Taxes and Sales Tax Wings can daily check the auditors' performance. The information demanded/examined and analysis conducted by the auditors would be made part of the software. In this situation, it would be impossible for the auditors to harass the taxpayers.
"If an auditor has detected something unusual during initial stages of audit, it would be specified in the software. Later, this information cannot be altered, eliminating chances of corrupt practices by the auditors", sources said.