Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Dr Muhammad Shoaib Suddle has launched the Computerised Complaint Management System (FCCMS) for handling complaints filed by taxpayers against the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Dr Suddle said that under the new system, taxpayers could electronically lodge their complaints with the FTO Office, besides monitoring the pace of progress on their complaints.
The FTO said that the number of complaints against the tax department had increased this year. "This could be mainly because of increased awareness about the FTO Office among the general public as well as business community." He said that of Rs 134 million allocated for the FTO Office, it received only Rs 32 million during the past two years. For the convenience of taxpayers, five regional offices have been set up over time at Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta. The objective of the appointment of FTO, according to the preamble of the Ordinance, "is to diagnose, investigate, redress and rectify any injustice made to a person through maladministration of the government functionaries administering tax laws."
As the Revenue Division was the administrative unit responsible for the conduct of the federal government business in matters relating directly or indirectly to the collection of taxes, the watchdog role of FTO encompasses all tax officials, "including those working in subordinate offices of FBR", he said. Dr Shoaib Suddle explained that the computerised complaint system "will enhance efficiency, transparency, speed, quality standards and effectiveness of tax justice in Pakistan".
"The project will not only improve access to administrative justice but also lead to FTO's, increased ability to respond timely, to redress grievances, decrease the cost of filing a complaint by the general public, creation of a paperless environment, effective co-ordination between the FTO Office and FBR and uniformity in decisions due to easy access to computerised records of complaint."
A state of the art web-based complaint management system has been developed and made operational by electronically connecting FTO HQs at Islamabad and its regional offices at Lahore and Karachi. Moreover, computerised complaint management system "will reduce paper documents and time spent in handling and retrieval of information". "It will provide efficient complaint management and greatly improve the work flow and output of FTO Secretariat and its regional offices," he maintained.
The FTO said that the number of complaints against the tax department had increased this year. "This could be mainly because of increased awareness about the FTO Office among the general public as well as business community." He said that of Rs 134 million allocated for the FTO Office, it received only Rs 32 million during the past two years. For the convenience of taxpayers, five regional offices have been set up over time at Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Quetta. The objective of the appointment of FTO, according to the preamble of the Ordinance, "is to diagnose, investigate, redress and rectify any injustice made to a person through maladministration of the government functionaries administering tax laws."
As the Revenue Division was the administrative unit responsible for the conduct of the federal government business in matters relating directly or indirectly to the collection of taxes, the watchdog role of FTO encompasses all tax officials, "including those working in subordinate offices of FBR", he said. Dr Shoaib Suddle explained that the computerised complaint system "will enhance efficiency, transparency, speed, quality standards and effectiveness of tax justice in Pakistan".
"The project will not only improve access to administrative justice but also lead to FTO's, increased ability to respond timely, to redress grievances, decrease the cost of filing a complaint by the general public, creation of a paperless environment, effective co-ordination between the FTO Office and FBR and uniformity in decisions due to easy access to computerised records of complaint."
A state of the art web-based complaint management system has been developed and made operational by electronically connecting FTO HQs at Islamabad and its regional offices at Lahore and Karachi. Moreover, computerised complaint management system "will reduce paper documents and time spent in handling and retrieval of information". "It will provide efficient complaint management and greatly improve the work flow and output of FTO Secretariat and its regional offices," he maintained.
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