LAHORE: The Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) has been performing outstandingly throughout the year and shall meet the targets assigned by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). The LTU has a team of professionals and hardworking officers who performed very well in the Financial Year 2016-17. The Audit and Enforcement Wing works with a mutual understanding for the betterment of the national economy.
This was stated by Additional Commissioner Audit Zone-III, LTU, Farooq Azmat Chatha while giving an exclusive interview to Customs Today.
Farooq said he deals with the audit cases so that the Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) ensure transparent process of audits conducted in cases of taxpayers selected for total audit by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) through random balloting or by the Commissioners concerned on finding discrepancies in their records.
He added that no pressure would be accepted in the process of audit. The selection and audit of the taxpayers’ cases will be done purely on the merit basis. After the selection of a case through random ballot, the commissioner concerned informs the taxpayer of the selection through a notice and requests him to present the record before the deputy commissioner concerned, Farooq added.
The audit team, headed by a Deputy Commissioner and supported by Inland Revenue Audit Officers (IRAOs) and Inspector Inland Revenue (IIR), examines the tax affairs of a taxpayer under the Income Tax Ordinance-2001, Sales Tax Act-1990 and Federal Excise Duty Act-2005, he said. In some cases, the LTU conducts the composite audit, he added.
The audit includes third party verification to examine the veracity of income and expenditure details as per tax returns and determination of true tax liability, Farooq added.
Talking about the cases, he said that his range was assigned with 90 cases by the board for audit, adding that the Lahore High Court’s recent ruling on a writ petition filed by M/s Nestle Pakistan has streamlined the process of audit. In the light of the said judgment, audit is to be conducted by one Officer and the adjudication by another. Due to lack of cooperation/compliance by the taxpayers, some cases are causing delay, adding that the LTU imposes penalty on the non-compliant taxpayers, he stressed. The LTU is also authorized to file a case before the tribunal on non-compliance, he further said.
In the conclusion, Farooq said most of the dedicated, professional, competent and hardworking officers have been posted at the LTU, he added. All the officers are working very hard to meet the target and the LTU will not only meet the target but also surpass it in order to strengthen the national economy. Due to outstanding performance, the LTU has been surplus in the last financial year, he reminded.
