Islamabad: Chairman of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Syed Shabbar Zaidi on Friday assured the business community that the tax authority would not raid the shops/outlets of taxpayers registered for income and sales tax collection, according to news sources.
He made these remarks while speaking with a delegation of the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI). The chairman added that he would instruct the Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation of Inland Revenue (IR) to limit the number of raids; yet, he also urged the business community and traders to cooperate with the tax authorities in order to resolve issues with tax evasion and smuggling.
Chairman Zaidi also agreed to a proposal that would ensure that the authority to impose penalties on tax evaders was only granted to those officials that were higher or equal in rank to an FBR official. Additionally, in a bid to alleviate RCCI’s concerns over ‘unjustified’ raids, he agreed to first evaluate the complaints against suspected individuals, before granting permission for the execution of a raid.
The chairman also told the delegates present that the turnover tax would be reduced for small traders and business vendors on a case-to-case basis, and that the threshold for this concession would be enhanced.
RCCI President Saboor Malik stated that the business community was well aware of the national economic crises and was looking for a stronger partnership with the tax authority so as to create a mutually beneficial environment required for economic growth and recovery.
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