Recovery of revenue: Court seeks FBR report on action against defaulters

Tax body told to submit cases dismissed for negligence

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court sought a report from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on steps taken to ensure a coherent monitoring and control system for its revenue claims and action taken against defaulters.

The two-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, while issuing a three-page order, also directed the FBR to submit the list of cases dismissed for negligence, including their respective titles, by the third week of July.

The bench observed that FBR was the ‘ultimate repository of powers, functions and authority’ in the enforcement of federal tax laws.

“The FBR’s statement reveals chaos in the monitoring system of the FBR with result that hundreds of cases for the recovery of public revenue have been dismissed either for non-prosecution or for being time barred, reasons constituting negligence or complicity of personnel at different levels in the FBR hierarchy”, says the order.

Earlier, while complying with a May3 order from the court, Additional Attorney-General Waqar Rana appeared before the bench on behalf of FBR and submitted a report on action taken against Chief Commissioner, Revenue, Regional Office, Rawalpindi, Tanvir Akhtar Malik.

Malik had been charged with submitting a false report in the apex court on FBR cases dismissed by various courts for non-prosecution, time barred filing, non-compliance of courts orders etc.

The FBR told the bench that disciplinary action against Malik, a BPS-20 officer, is being mobilised; adding that Finance Minister Ishaq Dar had recommended action against him and the matter was now pending before the prime minister for approval.

The FBR also sought six more weeks to file an error-free report on default cases which have been dismissed on various counts.

Meanwhile, another three-judge bench, headed by Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh, asked AAG Waqar Rana to settle the tax payment dispute between FBR and the Utility Stores Corporation.

The FBR claimed tax on products sold at Utility Stores but the government has given  subsidy on them.

Hearing the case, Justice Sheikh remarked whether the FBR will impose tax on subsidised products bought by the poor.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 29^th, 2016.