The Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has strictly barred the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) from filing Writ Petitions before the High Courts against the orders of the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO).
In this regard, the FTO has written a letter to the FBR Chairman raising serious concern against the FBR’s practice of filing unnecessary representations before the President.
According to an astonishing letter of the FTO to the FBR Chairman, it has been observed that FBR files representations before the President of Pakistan without analyzing the facts of the cases.
An analysis made by this office shows that the President of Pakistan has disposed of 242 representations filed by FBR since January 2023 till-date. Only 6 representations of FBR succeeded whereas the rest were rejected/disposed of.
During the same period, FBR has filed 192 fresh representations’ against the recommendations of the Federal Tax Ombudsman. It has been noticed that representations are filed in cases of the same nature which have earlier been decided and in which recommendations were upheld by the President of Pakistan. A large number of representations are being rejected with the remarks that FTO’s recommendations are unassailable. The agency has the lawful authority to decide the matter on its merit following the law and precedent on the subject, FTO said.
In this regard, FBR had already framed SOP prescribing that every representation must be routed through Member-Legal and the line Member for properly analyzing the facts and grounds of the representation. Such practice appears to have been discontinued as evidenced by an ever-increasing number of representations filed by FBR, FTO maintained.
It has also been observed that FBR, after exhausting the remedy of representations, files Writ Petitions before the High Courts even though the law does not provide for such a course of action. In this regard, the Cabinet Division and FBR have already issued directions to field formations for not challenging FTO/President’s Order before the Hon’ble High Courts.
It has further been noticed that in certain cases, representations are filed only to delay the implementation. Such representations are afterward withdrawn by the FBR.
FBR Chairman is requested to personally look into the matter and issue directions to the concerned quarters to carefully examine the recommendations, and President’s orders and follow the SOP before deciding to file a representation against the recommendations, the FTO office added.
