ISLAMABAD: Government has admitted that there is trust deficit between taxpayers and tax department and it will be taking corrective measures to address this problem.
An official handout issued on Thursday that the Assets Declaration Scheme 2019, tagged as an amnesty scheme will expire on June 30th.
It said all persons having un-disclosed and undeclared assets and un-disclosed expenditure are advised to avail the Scheme.
The official statement further said, during the deliberations on the amnesty scheme it has been observed that one of the major apprehensions of the taxpayers relate to the track record of working relationship between the taxpayers and the tax departments.
‘’It is admitted that the same at present does not comply with international best practices. It is apprehended that the same kind and manner of relationship which is at times undesirable, will continue in the future. The purpose of this release is to dispel that apprehension’’ it added.
The primary objective of the Government is to improve the trust level between the taxpayer and the tax department. For that purpose, some steps have already been undertaken which have been duly appreciated by the taxpayers.
However, major corrective actions will be taken from July 1st. Some issues have been identified in the Finance Bill 2019 and others will be disseminated in the procedures, circulars and the administrative reforms which will be made in the Federal Board of Revenue post-July 1, 2019.
The primary theme of these actions is; automation of business process, lack of personal interaction and minimal possibility of abuse of powers and discretion by the tax authority
In this process the first step- ‘Return Filing’ and the ‘Sales Tax Registration’, is being automated without any personal interaction.
In the new Finance Bill, it has been ensured that the functions of ‘Audit’ shall be undertaken by a person different from the persons involved in enforcement.
Accordingly, the process of audit and enforcement will be segregated in due course. The government claimed it would be a major step in bridging the trust deficit.
The government plans to issue detailed explanatory circulars making sure there should not be any possibility of abuse of section 122(5A) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 and any other similar provisions in the relevant statutes. It is also being ensured that first appeal stage be completely divorced from enforcement function.
The government also claimed that it is committed to ensuring the concept of ‘Self Assessment Procedure’. Steps will also be taken to ensure that there is no possibility of harassment of the taxpayers.
It is reiterated that the primary objective of the government is to create trust amongst the taxpayers. It will be ensured that same actions materialize and concrete visible results are apparent.
