The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will not take any measures that may create harassment among the business community, however, the businessmen should cooperate with the tax department for improving tax revenue of the country.
Syed Ejaz Hussain, Director General (Intelligence & Investigation) Inland Revenue, FBR, said this while addressing business community at Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
He said the committee should comprise the representative of I&I directorate and ICCI. He said communication gap between the FBR and the taxpayers was the main hurdle in improving tax revenue and a dispute resolution and advisory committee comprising representative of the FBR and ICCI should be formed to resolve tax issues amicably. He assured that the FBR would not take any coercive measures and criminal proceedings would be initiated only in rare cases where taxpayers would not extend any cooperation with the department.
He said instructions had already been issued to the I&I directorate officers not to collect capital value tax as only field units of RTO will collect CVT. He said without authorised warrants, no officer of FBR could raid business premises and stressed that businessmen should not cooperate with those officers who did not have authorised warrants. Rather, they should report such matters to the police, he demanded. He said cooperative relations between tax collectors and taxpayers was the way forward to promote national interest and assured that the FBR would not take any such measures that may create any unnecessary tension in the business community.
In his welcome address, Khalid Mehmood Chaudhry, Acting President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry, highlighted various tax-related issues of the business community. He said businessmen were ready to pay tax, but certain measures of I&I directorate like initiating criminal proceedings, detention and registration of FIRs against some taxpayers had created harassment in the business community and FBR should avoid such extreme measures to improve trust deficit and to build confidence.
He said notices to small cigarette retailers should be withdrawn and disciplinary proceedings should be taken against the responsible officers. He said due to coercive measures of the FBR, many businessmen were now thinking to move out of the country which was not in the interest of their economy. He said businessmen were promoting business activities in very tough conditions due to law and order problems, electricity and gas load shedding, and, creating harassment in such circumstances would be more harmful for the country.
