Karachi: The Pakistan Tax Bar Association (PTBA) has addressed a letter to Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Amjad Zubair Tiwana, expressing apprehensions regarding the persistent issuance of income tax notices by the automated system to deceased individuals and businesses that have ceased operations. This news surfaced on December 28 through an article.
As per the details, despite prior notifications to the FBR about the cessation of business operations or the demise of individuals, the automated system continues to dispatch notices. In response to this issue, PTBA President Anwar Kashif Mumtaz urged the FBR to enhance its automated system to mitigate the challenges faced by the relatives of the deceased and companies that have concluded their operations.
The association recommended system upgrades, suggesting that if a notice under Section 117 of the Ordinance, along with the tax return, has been submitted in the case of the dissolution of an Association of Persons (AOP), winding up of a company, or the death of an individual, no future notice should be issued for filing tax returns. PTBA proposed that if the department requires additional information related to the disclosure under Section 117, they may issue a notice under Section 117 as necessary.
The letter emphasized the need to consider this recommendation for the removal of hardships and to save the energy and time of field officers from redundant tasks. PTBA referenced Section 114 of the Ordinance, which empowers the commissioner to issue notices to non-filers who have not submitted their income tax returns for the current or previous tax years.
The association highlighted that after the implementation of IRIS, the system issued auto-generated notices for future tax years, even for taxpayers who had complied with the provisions of the Ordinance by submitting notices under Section 117 and filing their tax returns.
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