The Inland Revenue Audit Officers/Assistant Directors (Audit) of Large Taxpayer Office Lahore have filed petitions in the Lahore High Court (LHC) against the Finance Division and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for disallowing traveling/daily allowances during monitoring of production/supplies of sugar mill in Punjab.
According to an order of the LHC, the IR officials pleaded that during the period of posting under the control/supervision of the Chief Commissioner, Inland Revenue, Large Taxpayer Office (LTO) and Corporate Tax Office (CTO), Lahore the IR officials have been assigned special duties under section 408 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 after their periodical placement not exceeding 30 days subject to rotational basis among the petitioners to serve at various Sugar Mills located in different areas of Pakistan to monitor the production and supplies of these Sugar Mills.
The postings under section 40B of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 cannot be pared/equal with the transfers and postings as have been done by placing officers of IR at various field formations irrespective of the fact that the sugar mills fall within the jurisdictions of the different regional field formations of Inland Revenue (IR) giving rise to the entitlement of the officers of Inland Revenue to the TA/DA as per relevant rules.
Meanwhile, a letter has been issued by the FBR Chairman after consultation with the Finance Division describing/emanating changes in the rules/procedures meant for the process and sanction of TA/DA under the garb of the so-called Impugned Letter without having any lawful ground and justifiable reasons.
The FBR/Finance Division has attempted to totally change the settled principles/ prevailing practice devised for sanction of TA/DA to the civil servants being assigned the special duties/tasks across the country without considering the facts, circumstances, and prevailing rules and procedures, even different kind of problems faced by petitioners (Officers) and their families during their placement in the discharge of the official duties which were assigned by the headquarter u/s 40B of the Sales Tax Act, 1990.
The FBR has disallowed daily allowances (DA) to the IR officials for depriving their pending claims of TA/DA, whereas these claims of TA/DA applied before the issuance of said impugned Letter, hence the same is liable to be set aside being totally against the principles of law, good governance, and principles of justice.
The IR officials performed their special assignments in different areas of the country regarding checking the production of the different manufacturing units, especially Sugar Mills which were assigned by the headquarters, it is pertinent to mention that the petitioners under the obligation of the strict orders of the headquarter prepared the report of the daily production of taxable supplies of assigned Sugar Mills and dispatched to headquarters on daily basis.
The act of the FBR/Finance Division is an authoritative approach to handling the matters pending disposals by ignoring the prevailing Rules, procedures & Practices to deprive the petitioners of their lawful benefits having accrued as per their entitlements, the petitioner added.
The Impugned Letter issued by the FBR for disallowing daily allowances (DA) to the IR officials and by giving it retrospective effect may be set aside, they added.
