The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued a clarification on a news story that had been published in the Daily Times, wrongly portraying that “a proposed amendment in the Finance Bill, 2021 makes it mandatory to make payment of total assessed demand for filing of first appeal”.
The FBR has explained the relevant section of the enforced law to remove the existing confusion in this regard.
ALSO READ
Govt to Take Special Measures to Generate Rs. 120 Billion Tax Revenue
The fact remains that the law pertaining to the clearing of admitted tax liability that the taxpayer has personally worked out on the basis of returned income as a sine qua non condition for filing of appeal has always been on the statute book. It has not been changed, and no such thing requiring payment of assessed tax demand for filing of the first appeal has been proposed to be added by the Finance Bill, 2021.
The FBR has further clarified that the only change that has been proposed in the Finance Bill is to substitute the sub-section only to correct the re-numbering of the clauses of sub-section (4) of Section 127 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001.
The FBR has clarified the misunderstanding through a hypothetical illustration: suppose Mr. A files a return while declaring an income of Rs. 500,000 and admitted tax liability of Rs. 5,000, he is required to pay it at the time of the filing of the return.
ALSO READ
Chairman FBR Constitutes Committees to Remove Anomalies in the Finance Bill 2021
Suppose the taxpayer has not paid it, his assessment is amended under the law, and the total tax payable is determined at Rs. 10,000, the law requires the taxpayer to discharge the “admitted tax of Rs 5,000” to make him eligible to avail the right to appeal.
This provision of law has been part of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 since its inception.
