ISLAMABAD: Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Dr Asif Jah has ordered an investigation against the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for alleged payment of an inadmissible refund to a China-based taxpayer.

The FTO office has issued a notice under Section 10(4) of FTO Ordinance, 2000 read with Section 9(1) of FOIRA, 2013 and directed the Revenue Division secretary and chief commissioners CTO and RTO, Lahore to submit a written reply by 29.08.2022 to the allegations contained in the complaint filed by a lawyer, Waheed Shahzad, Butt against the FBR functionaries.

According to details, tax lawyer Waheed Shahzad had filed a plea before FTO and questioned the working of the tax officials in pleading cases before appellate tribunals.

He alleged that the appeals were not properly argued before the ATIR, Lahore to defuse the accountability process initiated by the FTO in cases 0200/OM/2019 and 0003/OM/2022.

Earlier, Dr Jah has ordered to conduct an investigation against initiation of criminal and disciplinary proceedings against the FBR’s top four officers for sanctioning bogus tax refunds worth millions of rupees to a China-based company.

The FTO, while deciding the case, has directed the FBR to initiate proceedings for the recovery of tax demand created vide consolidated order dated 05.06.2013, as per law and remove the officers involved from field postings and initiate disciplinary and criminal action against the then Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue and the then Deputy Commissioner Inland Revenue.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022