LAHORE: Regional Tax Office (RTO ) Lahore administration has served notice on Lahore Tax Bar Association (LTBA) President to vacate the area while the Bar president has reacted strongly against the demand of the RTO.
As per details, Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue, Regional Tax Office, Lahore, addressing the LTBA president Aysha Qazi asked her to immediately vacate the area adjacent to the LTBA office.
“The adjacent area ‘is an Emergency Fire Exit,’ the RTO said adding that, “We are afraid that if this place is not vacated immediately we may suffer huge losses in form of human lives and damages to public property.”
On the other hand, LBTA President talking to Customs Today said that the RTO has made a very unrealistic demand as the place has been constructed for setting up a branch of NBP with mutual consent of the past chief commissioners of LTU, RTO-I and RTO-II.
She said that it was very unfortunate that Lahore Tax Office which is one of the biggest offices of the Federal Board Revenue offices and it does not have a bank branch of any bank.
The LTBA president emphasized that in the absence of the bank branch both RTO staff and taxpayers were facing hardships in revenue collection and tax deposits respectively.
Qazi said that the area which the RTO has asked LTBA to vacate was mutually decided for the set-up of a Bank Branch in 2009 by the then RTO chief commissioners and LTBA office bearers.
However, the new chief commissioner RTO-I Waqar Ahmad, who according to Qazi, is of the view that consultants should not be serving at the premises, has objected and asked the LTBA to vacate the place for which the NBP has finalized all arrangement to start the branch to facilitate both the taxpayers and the RTO officials, the LTBA president stated, adding that the chief commissioners is also not ready to give the substitute of the area.
She disclosed that earlier a special counter of NTN for the lawyer fraternity was set up but it has also been removed.
