ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tax Bar Association President Abdul Qadir Memon has advised the government and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to simplify tax reinforcement system if they want to promote tax culture in the country.
In an exclusive interview with Customs Today, Memon said that the FBR, being a tax authority, also needs to create deterrence in the tax system.
“By improving automation system, the FBR can broaden the tax base and the burden can be reduced on the existing tax payers,” he said, adding that in the cases of importers, the FBR was not properly applying the laws and in most of the cases the appellate forums like adjudication and commissioners appeals ignore the Supreme Court and high court rulings.
Memon said that structure of taxes and duties should be realistic. “We have lot of potential of tax revenue collection,” he said, adding that the system of Customs Adjudication and commissioners of appeals should be placed under the Supreme Court or the high courts because this is a part of judicial system. “It is difficult for an officer to provide justice to the public against the FBR policy from where he is getting all benefits,” he added.
Memon disclosed that the Karachi Tax Bar Association has filed a petition before the Sind High Court for the separation of adjudication system and forum of commissioner appeals from the Federal Board of Revenue.
He said enforcement system of FBR is much fatigue, peoples are making and earning million and billion of rupees but even they don’t file the tax returns because enforcement system is not properly working and there is a need to be create a deterrence through this action we can broad the tax base and new taxpayers will be involved in the tax system.
If there is a law that a owner of 200 yards house will pay the tax, he must pay the tax and file the returns but if he don’t pay the tax then he should get the punishment. The weak enforcement system is causing discouragement of the existing tax payers because when they observe that often members of their community is not paying the taxes and FBR is not able to take any action against them then they find the ways for tax evasions.
He said the government always makes unrealistic budgets and FBR follow aggressively tax revenue collation policy which is not in favour of existing tax payers, FBR need to review the whole situation, if there is will I believed that FBR have the potential to do anything. He said that forum of Customs Adjudication and Appeals separated from the execution it should be under the jurisdiction of the high court or Supreme Court.
