Tax notices slammed

KARACHI: The Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA) has expressed concerns over notices issued by the tax departments in those cases where income tax returns had already been filed.

In a letter sent to Member Inland Revenue (Operations) on Friday, KTBA informed him about the notices to taxpayers to file their returns of past years, as they had already made compliance.

The tax bar said presently communication between taxpayers and tax offices was available through IRIS portal. “But the IRIS system does not allow any option to file or submit any reply for informing that the return of income had already been filed,” KTBA said.

The tax bar said in many cases the notices were sent from the tax year 2014 to all subsequent taxpayers without verifying the fact that return of income had already been filed.

The tax bar informed the Member IR (Operations) that the tax departments were also issuing notices to new taxpayers to file tax returns of past years.

The notices are generally treated by the new taxpayers as a punishment for registering themselves with the FBR.

The tax bar suggested the FBR should issue directives to all the commissioners to immediately stop issuing such notices to all the new taxpayers.