President Dr Arif Alvi has stressed the need for further strengthening the Office of Tax Ombudsman for the betterment of the country’s economy.
The President said this while talking to Federal Tax Ombudsman Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera who called on him on Friday.
The President said that steps should be taken against mismanagement of tax authorities to provide timely and immediate relief to taxpayers. He stressed on improving liaison with Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for prompt redressal of grievances against mismanagement of tax officials. The President appreciated the role of the Federal Tax Ombudsman and assured his cooperation in performing his duties.
The President emphasised the need for creating awareness about the significant role being played by the tax ombudsman with regard to addressing public grievances against the tax authorities.
Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera presented Annual Report 2020 to the President and briefed him about the performance and achievements of his organisation during 2020. He apprised the President that refund claims to the tune of Rs5,864.94 million were decided and due amount was paid to the aggrieved tax payers by FBR during 2020.
He highlighted that 3,555 complaints were disposed of during 2020, as against 2,863 in 2019. He informed that 3,332 fresh complaints were registered during 2020 as compared to 2,510 in 2019. He further informed that 3,888 cases were processed during 2020 which also included 538 carry forward cases from the previous year.
