SIALKOT: Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) Senior Vice President Sarafraz Butt has said that a large number of potential taxpayers might fail to take benefits of the tax amnesty scheme as they were facing delay in getting sales tax registration and national tax numbers.
While talking to Customs Today, Butt said thousands of applications filed online were lying unattended with the FBR and people are anxiously awaiting for response. After the commencement of voluntary tax compliance scheme, there was no any mechanism or plan to swiftly handle applications for issuance of NTNs and sales tax registration.
He said the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) should make arrangements for issuance of tax registration same day whereas a special task force should immediately be constituted to deal with this situation. He suggested kiosks/counters could be established at convenient places for the applicants.
It may mention here that the FBR set up a control room cum-operational room in the FBR headquarters to coordinate activities in the field formations across Pakistan to facilitate and educate the traders about the voluntary tax scheme.
An official of FBR said that all chief commissioners of regional tax offices (RTOs) have already been instructed not to issue any notice to a person who becomes part of this scheme, without the approval FBR headquarters. To make the scheme successful and to facilitate the trader’s community, focal persons and sub-focal persons have also been appointed in all RTOs, while informative and explanatory material about the scheme is also ready.
However Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Revenue Haroon Akhtar advised FBR operations wing to instruct all RTO’s and filed formations to hold regular meeting with the representatives of chamber of commerce, trade associations and local tax bar associations.
