Speakers at a seminar termed e-filing system as taxpayer friendly mechanism, saying that it will provide long term benefits to the taxpayers and make them audit free within a few years.
The seminar on "E-Filing of Sales Tax and Federal Excise" was organised by Regional Tax Office (RTO), Karachi in collaboration with the Southern Regional Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP) on Wednesday.
The speakers were Iftikhar Qutab, Collector Headquarters, RTO, Shahbano G.M Khan, Additional Collector, RTO and other senior officials. They said that the system would minimise individual interaction with departments aimed at eradicating malpractice, which was extensively done before its commencement.
They termed poor computer literacy and lack of awareness regarding tax mechanism as the major hurdles for most taxpayers and added that the system is user friendly and provides maximum benefits to the taxpayers. "Pakistan has at present inadequate literacy rate, hence many taxpayers are afraid of e-file, but the system has been designed to facilitate taxpayers at their door step," they said.
Later, the online demonstrations on new sales tax return forms and e-filing web portal were presented, aimed at resolving problems being faced by e-intermediaries and taxpayers. A large number of ICAP members and RTO officials were present on the occasion.