President Asif Ali Zardari has called for tougher oversight of the Federal Tax Ombudsman’s decisions, warning that taxpayer relief must go beyond paperwork and translate into actual, effective redress.
President made remarks during a meeting with Federal Tax Ombudsman Zafar Hijazi at Aiwan-e-Sadr, where the FTO presented its Annual Report for 2025.
With thousands of taxpayers turning to the ombudsman for relief, President Zardari stressed the need for stronger mechanisms to track compliance with FTO decisions and recommendations. He underscored that once relief is ordered, its implementation should be properly monitored to ensure aggrieved taxpayers actually receive the benefit.
President highlighted FTO’s role in tackling maladministration in the enforcement and administration of federal tax laws, particularly through the investigation, diagnosis and resolution of taxpayer grievances. Calling for a faster and more efficient complaint-resolution system, he urged greater adoption of modern technology to expedite the handling of cases.
The figures presented during the meeting underscored the scale of the taxpayer grievance burden. The FTO registered 37,160 new complaints in 2025 and disposed of 35,830 complaints and cases during the year.
The report showed financial relief for taxpayers, with refund claims exceeding Rs13 billion being decided. The amounts found payable were subsequently released by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to the affected taxpayers.
