LAHORE: The Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has taken notice of the harsh treatment of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to an old lady (senior citizen) by issuing multiple notices and ex-parte orders against her over the past several years.
An old lady, who is a compliant taxpayer before Tax Ombudsman, was burdened with multiple audit notices for the tax year 2016. She was engaged in the textile manufacturing business when the final show cause notice for compliance was issued. The complainant applied for an extension which was rejected and an ex-parte order was passed asking for Rs. 2.7 million.
However, all the relevant details of purchases and expenses were not only filed but also duly examined by the officer but the ex-parte order was passed without considering the details available on record. The complainant, being aggrieved, took up the matter with the FTO.
In response to the notice, the Chief Commissioner of Inland Revenue (IR) contended that the case of the complainant was selected under Section 214C of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001. Subsequently, the Assistant Commissioner IR issued notice to produce records for the audit but the taxpayer did not fulfill her statutory duty.
However, to provide another opportunity to the taxpayer, a show cause notice was issued. As the taxpayer failed to make any compliance, the order was passed under Section 121(1) based on failure to provide an explanation.
According to the findings of the FTO, the issue was the non-assessment of income and determination of tax liability. The complaint was filed against the unfair treatment meted out to the complainant by passing harsh ex-parte order when the complainant was regularly making compliance to departmental notices issued for multiple years from time to time.
