The Federal Board of Revenue on Thursday directed the Directorate General of Large Taxpayers Units (LTUs) and Regional Tax Offices (RTOs) to start desk audit of all income tax returns filed by the corporate sector without causing harassment to business community.
Sources told Business Recorder that the FBR wanted desk audit of the entire corporate sector, but there should not be any kind of misuse of the facility by the income tax officials during this exercise.
According to sources, the LTUs of Karachi and Lahore have framed parameters for carrying out audit of registered taxpayers. These parameters would be converted into checklists for subjecting a case for desk-audit or detailed audit through correspondence with taxpayer or audit on business premises of taxpayer.
Following change in the income tax law, the FBR may set parameters for selection of audit by commissioners of income tax. The board opined that all corporate cases should be subject to desk audit but misuse of desk audit must be curbed through foolproof monitoring by the DGs in the field formations.
The FBR has directed the DGs of LTUs and RTOs, of Lahore and Karachi to suggest criteria for parametric selection of cases for audit, which would be subsequently being discussed with the Member Audit for finalisation of audit parameters. For audit of non-corporate cases, Member (Direct Taxes) agreed with suggestions of DGs to select classes of persons or business sectors at RTO level for which a policy has been approved at the board's level.