ISLAMABAD: In order to facilitate the taxpayers, Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Abdur Rauf Chaudhry has taken own motion notice of difficulties being faced by withholding tax depositors for renewal of registration of vehicles.
FTO took notice of the dispute following taxpayers’ escalating difficulties for getting annual renewal of registration of their vehicles.
Own motion inquiry revealed that Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) tax filers were being shown as non-filers in the software of FBR generated to maintain listings of active taxpayers and non-taxpayers.
In addition, FTO found that there was no mechanism to prove whether return-filers were on Active Taxpayers List (ATL) or not.
In order to reduce taxpayers’ difficulties, FTO directed FBR and post office to upgrade the mechanism of uploading name of taxpayers and providing them verification through online system, via email and mobile text messages.
FTO also directed post office to stop charging withholding tax from the regular taxpayers as non filers. These directives were given to post office since it was charging filers with amount applicable on non-filers for getting their vehicles’ annual registration by showing them as active taxpayers.