GCCI condemns deputation of FBR officials
SIALKOT: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has imposed 40-B Act in Gujranwala region for a period of a month before the end of the running fiscal year to ensure the achievement of tax recovery.
After the promulgation of 40-B Act, the Regional Tax office Gujranwala has started appointing the senior FBR officials at the tax defaulter factories due to which the traders, industrialists and exporters of Gujranwala have become much perturbed.
Gujranwala Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has expressed grave concern over this step by the RTO Gujranwala and GCCI has warned to close their factories if the senior FBR officials, being deputed at their factories were not called back. GCCI also warned that Gujranwala business community will come out on the roads to lodge a strong protest against deputation of the FBR officials at the factories.
FBR officials informed Customs Today that 40-B Act in Gujranwala will remain effective till June 30, 2015, under which the RTO has deputed the senior FBR officials at the factories for the recovery of the income tax and sales tax. The FBR officials will also check the sales and productions of the factories, besides, verifying the financial matters of factories.
Officials also confirmed the deputation of the senior FBR officials at the factories and they said that the FBR has compiled a list of the defaulting factories, where the FBR officials would also be appointed soon.
Meanwhile, President Gujranwala Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Khawaja Khalid Hassan, Senior Vice President Kashif A. Aziz and Vice President Babu Imtiaz have expressed grave concerns over the promulgation of 40-B Act.
They said that the deputation of the FBR officials in factories would open the new ways of corruption, as the FBR officials will try become the owners of the factories after being deputed there.
They said that the persisting energy crisis has already pushed the businessmen into a closed street.
They said that deputation of the FBR officials in the Gujranwala factories has already created a panic among the Gujranwala business community.
GCCI officials said that they had ever been urging the FBR to bring maximum new people in the tax net, but instead of finding new taxpayers, the FBR officials were creating hurdles for the old taxpayers.
