Dr. Asif Mahmood Jah, Federal Tax Ombudsman said that the business community was the backbone of the economy and his institution was working to provide them speedy, fair and cost free redressal of tax grievances. He said that maximum time limit for redressal of a tax complaint was 60 days, but efforts were being made to do this job in 60 hours to provide prompt relief to the taxpayers. He said this while addressing the business community during his visit to Islamabad Chamber of Commerce & Industry. FTO Advisors and FBR Officers were also present at the occasion.
Dr. Asif Mahmood Jah said that FTO was acting as a bridge between the taxpayers and the tax authority and reiterated that his institution would continue to fight for resolving the genuine grievances of taxpayers against tax department. He said that the network of FTO Offices was being expanded for the advocacy of taxpayers with a business friendly approach. He said that FTO portal was linked with We-BOC and PRAL and a mobile application has also been launched to facilitate the taxpayers in registration of their tax complaints with FTO. He urged that the business community should take maximum benefit of FTO services to get its tax grievances resolved in a prompt and hassle free manner. He also re-launched FTO Facilitation Desk at ICCI to facilitate the business community.
Speaking at the occasion, Muhammad Shakeel Munir, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) lauded the efforts of FTO institution for providing speedy justice to taxpayers by addressing their tax complaints. He said that FTO was creating positions of Business Coordinators, which was a very positive step as it would contribute more effectively towards solving the grievance of taxpayers. He said that the current tax system of Pakistan was very complicated and was not effective in broadening the tax base. He urged that the tax system should be formulated in a way that it should facilitate the promotion of business and investment activities which would ultimately increase the tax revenue of the country.
Jamshaid Akhtar Sheikh, Senior Vice President and Muhammad Faheem Khan, Vice President ICCI also lauded the role of FTO in resolving the tax complaints of business community and hoped that close liaison between ICCI and FTO would further facilitate the taxpayers. The members of business community from different sectors highlighted various tax issues and stressed that FTO should take up them with FBR for their better solution. They also gave many suggestions to further improve the prevailing tax system and bring tax reforms in order to promote the ease of doing business in the country.