Board has selected cases in six categories for tax year 2013
ISLAMABAD: The field officers of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) have dispatched notices to the selected taxpayer cases for audit identified through computer random ballot for the tax year 2013.
The FBR started the process at the headquarters on September 25 and selected 77,500 cases for audit in six categories, under Section 214C of Income Tax Ordinance for Tax Year 2013 and Tax Period 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2013 in respect of income tax, sales tax and FED. Last year, 41,727 cases were selected for audit.
As per category-wise break up, of 25,046 cases of income tax (corporate), 1,876 cases were selected for audit. Of income tax (non-corporate) 840,675 cases, around 63,050 cases have been selected. Within the category of sales tax (corporate), of 11,757 cases, 1,410 cases were selected for audit. O 92,455 sales tax (non-corporate) cases, 11,095 cases have been selected for audit. Of 402 FED (corporate) cases, 45 have been selected for audit. Of 202 cases falling under the category of FED (non-corporate), 24 cases were selected for audit.
The FBR source said that notices issued to the selected companies and individuals had sought details of proofs of income, expenditures along with receipts.
“Regional Tax Officers (RTO) Islamabad has completed this exercise and sent notices to the relevant cases,” a source said.
However, the source said that in contrary to the decision made during computer ballot, the officers had also sent notices to taxpayers of the categories which had been declared exempted from audit.
“These categories included all final tax regime (FTR) cases of income tax corporate returns already taken up for audit under Section 177 for tax year 2013 whether under process or finalised; all cases already selected for audit through computer random ballot for tax year 2012 whether under process or finalised; all cases where no business is stated to have been conducted for tax year 2013,” he added.
The source said that in income tax non-corporate returns cases falling under the FTR, taxable income from salary; taxable income from property; taxable income from share from Association of Persons (AoP); all cases already taken up for audit u/s 177 for tax year 2013 whether finalised or pending for assessment and all cases already selected for audit for tax year 2012 were whether under process or finalised.
Moreover, the source added that in sales tax corporate returns, null returns; government departments; cases already taken up for audit for tax period 2013 by the commissioner Inland Revenue and all cases already selected for audit through computer random ballot for tax period 2012 were whether under process or finalized.
Furthermore the source observed that in sales tax non-corporate returns, null returns; government departments; cases already taken up for audit for tax period 2013 by the commissioner Inland Revenue and all cases already selected for audit through computer random ballot for tax period 2012 were whether under process or finalized.
”FED non-corporate returns, null returns; government departments; cases already taken up for audit for tax period 2013 by the Commissioner Inland Revenue and all cases already selected for audit through computer random ballot for tax period 2012 whether under process or finalized, the FBR”s new audit policy added,” the source said.
However, the source said that audit notices had also been sent to salaried taxpayers, which had resulted in panic among them and now they were quite reluctant in filling tax returns for next year.
“Even in few cases foreign donor or UN employees have also received the notices despite the fact that income tax is already deducted from their salaries and UN officials are exempted from income tax,” the source observed, adding that this anomaly on the part of officials had made the entire practice of identification of cases and processing of cases for audit as a futile exercise.
“Therefore, there is a dire need for improvement of the said process and FBR should improve this audit computer balloting system along with adequate and proper training of the concerned officials for scrutiny of the filled tax returns to convert it a into a good practices,” the official source proposed.
The source said that such issues also surfaced last year, but this year number and volume of such issues increased.
