FPCCI to raise audit concerns with FBR, ministry next week

KARACHI: The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) plans to meet FBR chairman Nisar Muhammad Khan and other higher authorities to discuss issues regarding auditing and misuse of powers by authorities dealing with the business community.

“We also want to see increase in the tax net, but it must be done with encouragement not harassment,” said Zubair Tufail, the newly elected FPCCI president. “The powers should be used in a very delicate way.”

Tufail said out of the total population, only one million people were taxpayers, in such conditions, government should take the business community in confidence to implement reforms. The departments also need to increase their capacities in order to conduct such audits, he added.

Minister for finance Senator Ishaq Dar Thursday said the government would not tolerate tax evaders in any case and it would become very difficult for them in the future.

He said due to the efforts of the government, Pakistan successfully became a signatory of the multilateral Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and after becoming the member of OECD, Pakistan would now have access to information about the tax evaders anywhere in the world.

He said that tax evaders would not be able to run anywhere, and ultimately would have to pay their taxes honestly or face the legal process.

The Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) had already announced it would not submit proposals for the upcoming budget in protest and demanded the government to slash down discretionary powers given to the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) in the last four budgets.

The finance minister assured that those tax payers who were paying their taxes honestly would be further facilitated by the FBR.

Dar said he has directed the FBR officials not to bother the tax payers needlessly and they should not be dealt with heavy handedness, however, he asked the FBR not to leave tax evaders in any case.

The minister also said that the present government had introduced a new Companies Act, 2016 according to which all the companies holders would be bound to maintain their global assets.

Ishaq Dar said that although the stakeholders were trying hard to use their influence politically in order to stop this from happening, this act would very soon be approved and become a law.