ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh has instructed the officials of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to simplify tax filing procedures so as to ensure transparency in revenue collection.
While charging a virtual meeting of the Federal Board of Revenue’s Technical Committee on Friday, he proposed amendments in the existing rules to bring transparency in revenue collection.
In the meeting, it was decided that experts would be engaged as co-opted members to streamline the workings of the committee. Representatives of the commerce and industry divisions would also be included to further strengthen the committee.
During the meeting, FBR’s ‘FASTER’ system for sales tax refunds to exporters was appreciated by the PM’s aide. It was agreed that both FASTER and rebate systems would be fine-tuned on a priority basis for more efficient results.
The technical committee asked the Ministry of Commerce to clear the backlog with reference to DLTL refunds expeditiously, adding that the FBR would devise a strategy for liquidation of pending income tax returns.
Earlier, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had further proposed amendments in the alternate dispute resolution rules.
According to the proposed amendments, any person or class of persons interested in a resolution of any dispute will have to submit a written application for alternative dispute resolution to FBR.
After examining the content, the application will be referred to a committee for resolution. The committee, which will be headed by the concerned chief commissioner, will have to decide the case with consensus within 120 days.
The decision of the committee will be binding on the commissioner when the applicant has withdrawn the appeal pending before the court of law or any appellate authority.
The decision of the committee will not be binding on the commissioner if the order of withdrawal is not communicated to the commissioner within 60 days of the service of the decision of the committee upon the applicant.
The FBR proposed detailed rules for the functioning of the committee and resolve the dispute at the earliest.
