ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday said that a new mechanism of settlement of cases has been introduced to facilitate taxpayers.
The FBR said that before Finance Act, 2020, a taxpayer aggrieved with an assessment order could file an appeal before the appellate authority and the same time could also avail alternate dispute resolution mechanism.
However, there was no mechanism to resolve a dispute before finalization of assessment, the FBR added.
In order to facilitate taxpayers and reduce the burden on the formal appeal system an amendment has been introduced that where a taxpayer in response to a notice for amendment intends to get his case settled, he may file offer of settlement before the assessment oversight committee for resolution of his dispute.
The assessment oversight committee is proposed to comprise of the Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue, the Commissioner Inland Revenue and the Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue having jurisdiction over the taxpayer.
“The committee shall call for record of the case and after affording opportunity of being heard decide the dispute by consensus either by accepting the offer or modifying the offer,” the FBR said.
Where, the committee’s decision is also acceptable to the taxpayer, the commissioner shall amend the assessment on the basis of the notice already issued. “Concealment cases and issues involving questions of law having impact on other cases are proposed to be excluded from the purview of the committee,” the FBR added.
It further said that where the issue has been settled through the negotiated mechanism, the taxpayer shall deposit the amount o tax payable along with any penalty of default surcharge. The taxpayer shall waive his right to appeal and no further proceedings shall be taken against the taxpayer on the issues settled by the committee and accepted by the taxpayer.
