Taxpayers Facilitation Division in collaboration with Pakistan Revenue Automation Limited (PRAL) arranged a seminar on direct debit facility at Large Taxpayers Unit, Lahore. A large number of corporate taxpayers attended the seminar. PRAL officers explained that the Direct Debit facility is a hassle free way of paying taxes round the clock from anywhere, without physically going to the bank.
The facility has turned the taxpayers' office into a virtual bank. There is no need of standing in long queues in front of the bank waiting for the turn to deposit taxes. The taxpayers only need to have an NBP bank account and registration at the FBR's web portal to benefit from this facility. After authorising the NBP to execute transactions, the taxpayers can prepare online challans and instruct the bank through web portal to make the desired payment.
The bank after certain verifications make the desired payment and the process takes only a few minutes. The participants were also informed that the taxpayers can schedule their payments for a future date and SMS alerts and digital certificate make the transactions secure and reliable.
By using the Direct Debit Facility, the taxpayers can also access their e-ledgers and benefit from instant tax payment verifications. The taxpayers lauded the efforts of the FBR in launching e-payment solution for the convenience of taxpayers, however demanded certain improvements for processing the last minute payment requests initiated through e-portal just before the close of banking hours. Responding to their demand, the officers of LTC, Lahore responded to the taxpayers' queries after the seminar.