withholding statement has been made mandatory,” questioned a tax official. Tax officials said a system is already in place and is providing withholding deduction information, which should be continued.
“Iris system should be launched as pilot to address its glitches,” another official said. The inserted section led to a confrontation between the government and traders. The finance minister and FBR are optimistic about identifying people having taxable income but not paying their due liability.
Tax officials said obtaining results through different rates and imposition of the new provision is only possible when the tax authorities receive withholding statements. Tax officials are facing various issues with regards to the Iris, which have been discussed with the FBR high-ups.
The local tax offices complained that the Federal Board of Revenue’s headquarters insists on continuation of the existing software instead of resolving the issues. The tax reform commission, in its interim report presented in May 2015, recommended that a chief executive officer (CEO) of PRAL (Pakistan Revenue Automation (Pvt) Ltd) should be urgently recruited through open/transparent process due to back to back failure on Iris.
“A high caliber CEO with IT background is sine qua non for the future of FBR,” the report said. It added that the CEO should be selected through open public advertisement based on his ability, aptitude, competence, IT background and past experience.
Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA), in its letter to the ChairmanFederal Board of Revenue’s on October 8, highlighted issues faced by withholding agents on the e-portal. The tax bar requested the authority to extend the last date for filing of withholding statement for another month.
President Muhammad Zubair at KTBA said the situation remains unchanged as tax practitioners and withholding agents are facing difficulties in filing withholding statement. Zubair hopes that FBR will extend the filing deadline and resolve the issues on the e-portal.