LAHORE: The Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) postponed the hearing of a case filed by owner of M/s Khyber Hotel against the Regional Tax Office (RTO) Sargodha until the next hearing.
FTO Advisor Mian Munawar Ghafoor heard the case in which the counsel for the appellant argued that the RTO Sargodha has not released the refund to the appellant of the last two years.
He said that the RTO Sargodha collected excessive tax from the appellant during the last two years. The company approached the officer concerned many times for issuance of the refunds but the department did not pay the refunds after the passage of a reasonable time.
Finally, the appellant decided to approach the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO), seeking interference in this case. The counsel appealed the FTO advisor to direct the commissioner of RTO Sargodha to clear the refund claims on priority basis.
The counsel further said that the delay in issuance of refunds put burden on the taxpayers, adding that the RTO should make audit of the cases and release the extra amount collected by it from the taxpayer.
On the other hand, counsel for the RTO argued that the appellant has not submitted all record in the office on basis of which it is claiming for refunds. If appellant provides accurate record, the RTO will issue the refunds if any after proper assessment, he added.
After hearing the arguments from both sides, FTO Advisor adjourned the case and directed the parties to appear on the next date of hearing to present arguments in the case.
