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