FBR selects 14,154 cases for audit for tax year 2018
FBR launched its new website with simplified features and more facilitation for online tax payers.
ISLAMABAD (APP) – Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday selected 14,154 cases of income tax, sales tax and federal excise duty (FED) for audit through an electronic balloting for tax year 2018.
In a ceremony for risk based selection of cases for audit held here, the FBR selected 477,374 income tax payers for balloting out of which 10,982 or 2.3% cases were selected whereas out of 124,004 or 2.5% sales tax cases, 3,116 cases were selected through balloting whereas out of 725 cases of FED, the FBR selected 56 cases for audit.
Minister of State for Revenue Hammad Azhar launched the audit program by pressing the button for conducting electronic balloting randomly selected for audit for tax year 2018.
On this occasion, the FBR also launched its new website with simplified features and more facilitation for online tax payers.
Addressing the ceremony, Hammad Azhar said unlike the previous exercise, the FBR had selected fewer cases for audit to ensure good quality of the audit as well as as cost cutting on the audit procedures.
“Once the notices are issued to the persons for audit, the tracking system would be utilized with the help of new technology and all the process would be complete within given time,” he remarked.
He said with respect to recovery of data of three to four million non tax filers, a huge exercise was continued with National Database Regulatory Authority and much of the data has already been received.
“We are going to launch an aggressive drive against such non-filers soon to expand our tax net besides enhancing the revenue collection,” he added.
With respect to shortfall in revenue collection, the minister attributed the shortfall of Rs 300 billion to increasing pricing trend of petroleum in the international market, compression of imports, change in income tax slabs by the previous regime, and the legal intervention in telecommunication sector.
Talking to media after his address, Hammad Azhar lashed out at former finance minister Ishaq Dar for spreading rumors regarding Pakistan’s currency saying that he wanted to further devalue the currency on the basis of his speculations.
He categorically rejected the former finance minister’s claim of making any pledge for taking down the Pak rupee to a certain level saying that the incumbent government had not make any such commitment.
He said Ishaq Dar’s claim of bringing the Dollar to Rupee rate down to Rs 120 was only possible by increasing foreign debts and country’s deficit.
“He is an absconder, and convicted in criminal acts, and is responsible to bring the country’s economy on the verge of bankruptcy,” he said adding he should better come to Pakistan and surrender before the law enforcing agencies instead of teaching the economy.
“What he can teach is how to make the economy worst and how to launder his money,” Hammad added.
To a question, Hammad said the government had not make decision of introducing new amnesty scheme, however, he said if the government will have to take such decision, it will do through proper channel and not through any ordinance.
Replying to another query, the minister said the government had managed to receive data of 152,000 offshore accounts from 29 countries with an approximate value of US$ 11 billion adding that FBR was on its toes to chase them and bring them under the tax net.
He said out of the total identified numbers, 50% accounts were already declared with tax authorities while the remaining were undeclared. Due to his flawed economic policies, every citizen of Pakistan is affected now.
