Businessmen protest misuse of Sales Tax Act

LAHORE: Traders protested in front of the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Tuesday against the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for bank account attachments, misuse of discretionary powers under section 38-B and raids at business premises.

The LCCI acting president Amjad Ali Jawa, vice president Nasir Hameed Khan and traders’ leaders from Lahore markets participated in the demonstration. They chanted slogans against anti-business tactics of the tax machinery and demanded the FBR to stop misusing Section 38-B of Sales Tax Act, 1990 that was crushing the business community.

They said the section was being harmfully used by the officials of the tax department. The FBR officials were visiting markets and warehouses to unjustifiably harass the business people.

The protestors alleged that the FBR officials not only took coercive measures to raise unlawful tax demands without providing any supporting document, but also carried all the available records with them.

The participants of the meeting were of the view that teams from the tax department should visit the markets, if necessary, but they should immediately stop harassing the business community. They said that if there was an urgent need for stocktaking and ascertaining the sales tax liability of any particular business unit, the FBR officials should take the association concerned or the LCCI on board.

All the participants said FBR should stop harassing filers as non-filers. Those who were outside the tax net were not accounted for at all, which discouraged businesses to come into the tax net, they added.

They said that attaching bank accounts for recovery of outstanding dues is hampering business growth and tarnishing the business-friendly image of the government. They said that bank accounts should not be attached without prior notice to the taxpayer and after seeking approval in writing of the commissioner, in the light of the reply submitted by the taxpayer.

The recovery should be after the decision of the Tribunal and not before that. They said that unfortunately if the FBR initiates a recovery case, the taxpayer is not allowed to defend as FBR itself is the complainant and judge.