Telenor Pakistan has expressed serious concern over repeated attachment of its bank accounts, selection of case for audit without random balloting, issuance of show cause notices, amendment of income tax assessments and multiple tax proceedings of Income Tax, Sales Tax and Federal Excise Duty initiated by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) against the telecom company.
In this regard, the cellular company has reportedly approached FBR on the issue of challenges being faced by the company with respect to tax assessments & audits.
In a company letter written to FBR, that’s available with ProPakisani, Telenor Pakistan said that its a compliant taxpayer and believes in due payment of both direct and indirect taxes.
“It is unclear that how its case has been selected for audit without the due process of computerized random balloting”, read the letter.
Telenor’s letter sent to FBR said that board has history of issuing the company show cause notices for almost all the tax years challenging the deductible expenses without evidence of default by the Company and requiring transaction and invoice level information to justify admissibility of routine operating and other expenses.
According to Telenor, it believed that full scope tax audit should be conducted through selection vide balloting. Telenor, in the letter, referred to the judgment dated February 6, 2016 passed by a five member bench of Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue, Karachi.
Telenor also asked FBR to consider its decision on attachment of bank accounts, which has happened multiple times now, without allowing time to the Company to avail appropriate remedies available as per law.
This is disgraceful we should treat foreign companies with respect and hospitality.FBR should apologize to telenor if possible exempt them from giving tax for year or so.
I do not understand your logic. They can earn but do not pay tax.
FBR should be careful with these issues but tax exemption is strongly comdemned
Exemption is not good suggestion but yes FBR and Govt should take some serious action this misconduct, if allegations of telenor pakistan are true …
FBR is a blood hound these days, their staff lacks skills of auditing, and they simply don’t understand various accounting and taxation modalities and differences in various forms of accounting. On top of all that they are now in a habit of issuing back dated notices and are seizing money out of bank accounts by presurrizing banks. Sometimes I feel sorry for our fiscal setup when I look at these idiots.
at least bank accounts in panama are growing…
These are the fruits of having an unislamic economic system where taxes are randomly legislated and imposed. The rulers pay no taxes while common man and companies are hounded. This is nothing short of an MQM style bhatta albeit ‘legal’ with FBR the Unit in-charge and police as gangsters. Both monetary and fiscal policy is Capitalist creating massive poverty, making it difficult to do business and create a tiny class of super rich as Panama Leaks have shown.
In Islam the only taxes(and they are ibaadaat) people and companies pay are the ones which Allah swt ordained. They are few and enough for running the State affairs due to the rules that surround them.
Narrated Uqbah ibn Amir ( R.A ) : I heard the Messenger of Allah ( S.A.W ) as saying: One who wrongfully takes an extra tax (sahib maks) will not enter Paradise. [ Abu Dawood ]
Its my request at your forum to contact every software house, telecom company or any other company in Pakistan, this issue is for most of them if not everyone…propakistani should highlight this issue, everything is being happening just for sake of making money by FBR personnels, everything can be settled down if Telenor had paid ransom…but multinationals have strict regulations and anti bribery regulations within which they cannot pay any ransom to FBR officials that’s they have to suffer as per Pakistani norm of trade. This thing needs to stopped. How a company like Telenore can provide every invoice they have raised in a year to FBR for audit. Where in the world audit happens like this. This is disgraceful how FBR officials are embarrassing Pakistani nation