The Federal Tax Ombudsman Secretariat (FTO) has clarified news reports published in certain section of the media (not Pakistan Observer) with regard to a decision of the President of Pakistan in a representation preferred by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) against findings and directions issued by the FTO to the tax authorities in Own Motion and Inspection based proceedings before the FTO.
It is clarified that President of Pakistan has neither set aside nor annulled any decision of the FTO nor imposed any restriction on the FTO’s statutory powers relating to Own Motion or Inspection based notices or proceedings.
In a statement, the FTO has pointed out that the President of Pakistan has only modified the relevant decisions to the limited extent that, where defects or irregularities have been identified through above referred Own Motions investigations and Inspections the responsibility for determining the detailed and appropriate procedure for effective, transparent, and lawful corrective action shall rest with the FBR.
