LAHORE: The Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has adjourned the hearing of a case filed by Irfan Waheed, a resident of Gujrat, against the Regional Tax Office (RTO) Sialkot till the next hearing.
FTO Advisor Mian Munawar Ghafoor heard the case in which counsel for appellant argued that the RTO Sialkot has not released the refund to the appellant since two years.
He said that the RTO Sialkot has been collecting the additional taxes 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 his requests, even after the passage of a reasonable time.
Finally, the appellant decided to approach the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) seeking his intervention in this case. The counsel appealed the FTO advisor to direct the commissioner of the RTO Sialkot to clear the refund claims.
The counsel further said that the delay in release of refunds put the burden on the taxpayers adding that the RTO should audit the cases and release the extra amount collected by it 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 the basis of which he is claiming refunds. If the appellant provides accurate record, the RTO will be able to release the refunds, if any, after a proper assessment, he added.
After hearing the arguments from both sides, Advisor Mian Munawar Ghafoor adjourned the case and directed the parties to appear on the next date of hearing to present arguments in the case.
