ISLAMABAD: Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has redressed the complaints of taxpayers by processing 8,963 cases with an implementation status of 94.07% during 2023 as compared to 73.29% last year. Likewise, the refund claims of Rs. 17,742.16 million in 2023 and the due amount was paid to the aggrieved taxpayers by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
This was emphasized by the Federal Tax Ombudsman Asif Mahmood Jah, who called on the President Dr. Arifa Alvi and presented the FTO Annual Report 2023 at Aiwan-e-Sadr on Wednesday. The Federal Tax Ombudsman briefed the President on the overall performance of the FTO and its key initiatives to facilitate taxpayers and expeditiously address their complaints of maladministration by tax officials. He said concerted efforts have been made to strengthen the reach of the FTO by launching awareness campaigns and opening regional offices in the country.
He informed that honorary advisers have also been appointed abroad to help overseas Pakistanis in the US, Canada, Sweden, UAE, Hong Kong and the Philippines. He added that the FTO has appointed leading businessmen as honorary advisors from various chambers of commerce and industry to facilitate the business community. “To ensure quick response to malpractice by revenue authorities, a mobile application has been developed to enable aggrieved complainants to file complaints and check their status using mobile/smart devices,” he said. He noted that highly informative training sessions were also conducted to enhance the professional skills and expertise of the country’s ombudsman institutions.
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Appreciating the performance of the FTO, the President said that the FTO has done an excellent job by processing a record number of cases and providing refunds worth Rs 17,742.16 crore to taxpayers. He noted that the institution of FTO must be further strengthened as it provides free and speedy justice to aggrieved taxpayers. He called for the use of latest technology for seamless service delivery and timely redressal of taxpayers’ complaints to improve the country’s tax regime. He said the FTO has contributed effectively to promote good governance in the country. It is worth noting that the FTO is a quasi-judicial forum charged with the diagnosis, investigation, remedy and remedy of any injustice or malpractice committed against a person by officials administering the federal tax laws. Its aim is to increase the overall satisfaction of taxpayers and strengthen their confidence in the system.
