FBR deploys mentors to promote filing of income tax returns

KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is taking services of volunteers to guide salaried individuals about filing of income tax returns as number of filers is hovering below less than two million in a country with 200 million people, tax officials said on Thursday.

The Regional Tax Office (RTO–II) Karachi has so far collaborated with a non-profit organisation under which the FBR would avail services of volunteers to increase filing of income tax returns by salaried individuals.

Badruddin Ahmed Qureshi, chief commissioner of Inland Revenue told The News that around 53 volunteers from Karsaz Education and Welfare Organization (KEWO) would visit the private sector’s companies and help their employees in filing returns.

The officials said the tax authorities are taking services of third parties to increase number of return filers. The FBR received 1.963 million returns for tax year 2018 by April 30, 2019.

The revenue body received 1.84 million income tax returns for the tax year 2017. Qureshi said the FBR would not pay any amount to volunteers. But, they would be awarded with certificates for their contribution towards the national cause.

“The volunteers have been given target of returns filing and with information of potential taxpayers,” he said.

Qureshi said the tax officials are training young graduates from financial sector about filing of income tax returns. The RTO-II Karachi conducted training sessions for graduate volunteers from the non-profit organisation for filing of income tax returns in the premises of Income Tax Building.

“After theoretical and practical training these volunteers carrying laptops of their own will be dispatched to different markets, malls, large corporate organisations,” the tax official said.

In the advance stages, the volunteers would set up camps at business premises/large organisations with the consent of respective trade organisations/market committees of corporate sectors and help non-filers in filing of income tax returns.

The chief commissioner said the activities of the volunteers would be monitored by the Commissioner Inland Revenue Broadening of Tax Base to avoid misuse.

The KEWO’s officials said the NPO expressed its willingness to support drive to boost filing of returns. “The KEWO is actively working for youth development, skill enhancement, counseling, basic life support and other programs in Sindh aiming to extend these programs all over Pakistan in future,” the official said.

The official said the NPO informed the FBR about the intention of KEWO for the initiative to prepare volunteers team for the awareness of the taxpayers and to convert non-filers into filers by conducting sessions in companies/ organisations/ institutions to create positive aspect of the obligations.