LAHORE: Chairman All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) Adil Bashir has urged the government to stop FBR from harassment of taxpayers and withdraw all FIRs lodged against genuine manufacturers and exporters.
Addressing a press conference along with Abdul Rahim Nasir, Chairman Punjab and Kamran Arshad, Vice Chairman Punjab at the APTMA House, he said in case any agency of FBR finds any lapse in the compliance of tax laws, it should serve proper show cause notice upon the alleged taxpayer and no criminal proceedings should be initiated against any such person unless and until the case has stood scrutiny and test of an impartial judicial forum. APTMA offers itself to assist FBR and its field formations in any drive against tax evaders, he added.
He pointed out that congenial business environment is being polluted by registering FIRs against major export houses on lame excuses and frivolous issues.
The latest example of this episode, he said, is lodging of FIRs against leading textile exporters by Large Taxpayers Office (LTO), Lahore merely on the ground that computer system of FBR had erroneously uploaded input tax adjustment of already paid sales tax twice.
Adil Bashir said the FBR system had uploaded the data twice erroneously due to system error in September 2019 and there was no mis-declaration or omission on part of Taxpayers.
For this systematic error of FBR itself, Sales tax authorities of LTO Lahore have alleged a large number of leading taxpayers of committing tax fraud and initiated criminal proceedings against major reputed companies even without confronting them or issuing show-cause notices. Initiation of criminal proceedings for an act caused due to failure of the FBR system itself and without any adjudication proceedings is contrary to the principles of natural justice and amounts to gross harassment of leading taxpayers.
He said it is very painful to name and shame all Directors of the mills by nominating them in the FIR without even conducting a meaningful inquiry and in the absence of any incriminating evidence.
He has expressed the hope that the federal government would take stock of the situation and issue necessary directions to the FBR in the larger interest of the business environment in the country.
