ISLAMABAD: Although Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is making concerted efforts to simplify tax return forms so that taxpayers can file their tax returns with ease. However, it is difficult to give a timeline for the simplification of tax returns once and for all.
Amendments in the income tax law is a continuous process, therefore, income tax returns have to be tailored accordingly each year to reflect the relevant changes in law
A well placed source at FBR told Customs Today that towards this end, every year, a simplified draft income tax return was published on the official website of FBR and comments /suggestions were sought from all stakeholders to further simplify the return. Suitable changes are made in the return, based on the feedback received, prior to notification of the final tax return.
The source further added that a complete set of instructions on how to fill manual tax returns was also available along with the return. Furthermore, a person deriving income subject to final taxation was just required to file a simple statement under section 115 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001. However, in order to avoid complications in the filing of tax returns the facility of e-filing of returns had been introduced by the FBR.
In order to simplify the process of e-filing of returns, the source said that FBR had taken a number of steps including introduction of new software, IRIS, which was a web based, integrated system for e-filing of returns. The process of return filing has been simplified in this software and exclusive tabs have been introduced for each different head of income. A person deriving income under one head of income is just required to fill in the relevant information in the relevant tab.
‘In order to simplify the process of filling in returns, some basic information has already been fed into the system. Furthermore certain fields in the tax return have been made optional” the source added saying that the IRIS software computed tax liability, tax credits etc. automatically, thereby simplifying the process of tax computation for the taxpayer.
Furthermore, step by step instructions for filling in the e-returns are also available” the source added saying that an elaborate mechanism of providing assistance and guidelines to taxpayers was available in the form of FBR’s helpline as well as taxpayer facilitation centers located at different stations. In order to streamline and expedite the process of issuance of refunds, applications are now filed online by taxpayers through the IRIS system.
The source further maintained that in-depth discussions were held with stakeholders and the voluntary tax compliance scheme (VTCS) was introduced through which traders were facilitated and allowed to file a single page income tax return under the simplified special provision of section 99A of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 read with the Ninth Schedule to the Ordinance.
