Is the lack of a simplified tax preparation and filing system keeping salaried class at bay from filing their tax returns? Is looking for a tax consultant within a preferable payment range preventing people from the process? The low percentage of people filing their tax returns in Pakistan is a hint towards the need of a more efficient, user-friendly, and less daunting vehicle for tax preparation and filing.
With this idea in mind, Mudassir Jokhio, Zeeshan Bhatti, and Akbar Tejani, along with renowned and senior professional advisors Mr. Asad Ali Shah (Former Country Managing Partner of Deloitte Pakistan and member of PM’s Task Force for Restructuring), and Mr. Ashfaq Tola (Managing Partner of Tola Associates and member of Tax Reforms Implementation Commission and Tax Advisory Council) developed Pakistan’s first online tax return preparation portal www.Befiler.com.
The initiative aims to provide a platform that simplifies the tax filing process to promote the culture of documentation in Pakistan. With Befiler.com, you can apply for an NTN number, and prepare your income tax return within minutes to be reviewed and filed by tax professionals. Incorporated as a private limited company, Befiler powers the technology behind the portal while tax services are rendered by Tola Associates, a registered tax consulting firm.
Befiler is a game changer in the tax filing practice. There is no greater discomfort than being partially in control of your finances. One of the most important principals kept in mind, while developing the system, was to educate the individuals about their finances and help them understand where their money was going.
Not only does using Befiler.com allow users to become aware of important financial details and the corresponding tax impact, but also educates them about various tax rebates to save taxes as part of the filing process. It follows a step by step process with checks and balances so that a user provides all the relevant information required for tax filing.
How to File Income Tax Returns Using Befiler
Once you log on to Befiler.com, you can easily sign up and start the return preparation process. You will be asked a series of simple questions that need to be answered in a yes or no, and to enter basic information like salary income, taxes paid, investments during the tax year, etc.
Based on your responses, the system calculates and shows your final tax refund or obligation, as applicable, after adjustment of taxes paid or withheld.
The portal has built-in checks and balances to ensure that you have entered all the necessary information required to submit your tax return. Once you have completed the process, the system automatically generates the tax return for review and filing by a tax expert.
You will be notified, once the process is completed. In order to keep the services accessible for everyone, the fee for filing a tax return has been kept nominal i.e. only Rs. 3,000.
Security & Other Features
As security is always the topmost concern for all online platforms, Befiler.com was developed with the aim to provide all the essential security features including data encryption, Secure Sockets Layer and Transport Layer Security (SSL/TLS), spring CSRF security, CSP layer, OpenID for token etc. to ensure that there is no compromise on data security.
From getting you an NTN to allowing you to complete the entire process online in no time, Befiler.com is the answer to the tax preparation and filing hassles. A range of payment options such as credit/debit cards, SIM SIM wallet, and Keenu’s Net Connect, are available.
An Urdu version has also been added to widen the accessibility of the portal.
Live chat feature lets you find answers to your queries as and when needed during the filing process. For more information, details and clarifications, you can call (021) 35303294-6 during business hours or send an email to [email protected].
Their salary tax calculator is not showing the real tax on my salary! If this little thing isn’t fine, how can I trust on other features?
Dear Zacardo, the tax rates for TY 2019 have recently been amended. Our system is reflecting the tax charge based on current applicable tax rates. Could you please elaborate where exactly did you find the error?
Amazing! I was literally hoping for something like this to pop up in our country and yet here we are. Great article too. Admin you should highlight the article for Pakistanis to become tax literate. I think this is truly a game changer no doubt.
I tried for Tax Year 2018 and it calculated tax correctly. A suggestion is to add caption of “Monthly Salary” besides textbox for calculate feature. As Salary certificates provided are based on Yearly Income and Tax Deduction so there is tendency of entering yearly amount instead of monthly amount which creates confusion and I think this exactly was the case for Mr. Zacardo.
That’s a very valid comment. Let us consider how we can simplify it further.
Great. I will use to take a try.