The government is likely to promulgate a Presidential Ordinance to reduce forums of appeals to decide litigation of over 27,000 tax-related cases pending at the level of Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals) across the country.
Sources said that the drafting of the Ordinance is underway to reduce litigations of billions-rupee cases in courts.
Most of the cases are stuck up at the first level of Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals). If the FBR were able to deal with the litigation at the first level of appeals, the number of pending cases would be drastically reduced in the future.
Presently, two forums are available to the taxpayers before approaching the high court. After the removal of the forum of commissioner appeals, the fact-finding forum would be only ATIR which will reduce the time to dispose of cases by appellate forums.
The ATIR would be bound to decide an appeal in a prescribed time, sources added.
Sources also said that the government under the proposed ordinance will abolish the position of Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals) and hand over the cases to tribunals within the time frame for deciding such cases. In this case, the government has to specify a timeframe for immediately deciding the cases pending at the level of appeals, sources said.
