MULTAN: The Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has identified a serious case of maladministration involving tax officers at the Regional Tax Office (RTO) Multan, who subjected a registered female taxpayer to mental distress. Following a complaint from the taxpayer, the FTO has ordered the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to take immediate action against the involved officials for their repeated maladministration.
In an order directed to the RTO Multan, the FTO highlighted the considerable anguish suffered by the taxpayer since 2011, characterizing the case as one rife with multiple forms of maladministration.
The case details reveal that RTO Multan wrongfully attached the complainant’s bank account, recovering a sales tax demand of Rs1,673,244 without adhering to the due process of law.
A thorough examination of the case raises serious questions about the FBR’s operational integrity. Initially, a demand of Rs2,552,008 was created by an audit officer for the tax periods 2009 and 2010, citing reasons such as non-production of records, discrepancies between Income Tax and Sales Tax Returns, and inconsistencies in the E-Folder of the FBR Web Portal.
After the taxpayer’s appeal was rejected by the CIR (Appeals) on May 31, 2012, the department proceeded to recover Rs1,673,244 on June 6, 2012, based on one of the stated grounds. Subsequently, the department reviewed the case and amended the recoverable amount to Rs1,674,321, as noted in the FTO order.
In compliance with a ruling from CIR (Appeals-III) Rawalpindi, the Assistant Commissioner-IR A&E, Unit-I (City Zone) RTO Multan has since vacated the previously adjudged liability of Rs. 1,624,321. During the hearing, it was revealed that the authorized representative had not received the Order-in-Remand, which was subsequently provided to him.
The FTO has instructed the FBR to direct the Member-IR (Operations) to conduct a fact-finding inquiry to pinpoint the officials responsible for this maladministration.
Additionally, the Chief Commissioner of RTO Multan has been ordered to facilitate the refund of the already recovered amount of Rs1,673,244 to the taxpayer.
