ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is taking great care to ensure conduct of audit in a courteous, efficient, professional and effective manner as well as with highest standards of integrity.
In order to safeguard the government’s interests, the FBR has established a central risk based and automated “Tax Audit Management System” (TAMS), which is constantly reviewed and improved.
“Taxpayers are selected for audit on the basis of transparent, discretion free and automated process. The selection is done by computer, using different information items and parameters, without resorting to any identity details of the taxpayers” a well placed source at FBR told this scribe here on Tuesday.
Presently Taxpayers’ Audit department of the FBR is being headed by Syed Ijaz Hussain while tax system in is operating on self assessment basis aimed at promoting voluntary-compliance, documentation and self-policing. Tax Audit is an effective instrument of control with the FBR through which compliance level is monitored.
Through Audit, the government checks whether a registered person/ taxpayer has correctly determined his tax liability, deposited due tax in the national exchequer and is making adjustments of input tax etc, to which he is legally entitled.
In order to achieve the aforementioned goals, Taxpayers Audit wing was assigned the task of restructuring and reforming the audit policy. The main tasks included drafting National Audit Manual, preparing National Audit Plan and training the FBR workforce in modern auditing techniques etc.
An overall Integrity Program has been implemented within the organization. Auditors and Managers are expected to meet the highest ethical standards. Disciplinary actions will be initiated against those who choose to conduct themselves in an unethical manner. A quality review process has been established to ensure that prescribed standards and procedures are followed and there is uniformity in application of laws and procedures.
To measure the quality of the performance of the Taxpayers’ Audit Wing, the FBR conducts surveys on the basis of feedback from the Field Formations and Tax Bars Associations. These surveys also reflect perception of the Audit Process, further improvement in overall audit process as well as futuristic evaluation of the behavior, professionalism and competence of Audit staff.
The TAMS is a system which record details of the audit cases completed by the assigned officers in the field formations, reflecting performance of the audit officers. The FBR monitor performance of the audit officers under the TAMS. TAMS facility is reportedly not properly working in some of the stations. The TAMS data available at the FBR’s level showed zero-disposal of audit cases.
