Giving a presentation on the current status of policy and administrative reforms at the 13th National Tax Conference on Wednesday, the CBR member facilitation and taxpayer education (Fate) Habib Fakhruddin briefed the participants about the strategy to complete reform process within the stipulated time.
He said so far the expenditure incurred on reforms including Integrated Tax Management System (ITMS) and data-cleansing exercise for Tax Management System (TMS) is $10.61 million.
During the conference, M Abdullah Yusuf, secretary general, Revenue Division and chairman, CBR informed the tax officials that the reform process would not be rolled back.
He called upon the tax managers to make concerted efforts for broadening the tax base and increasing tax-to-GDP ratio. We can not afford to keep them at the present level, he said and added, we must equip ourselves with modern technology, techniques and tools to achieve the desired results. "You must be clear in your mind about the steps to be taken in future."
He said that the tax officials must facilitate the taxpayers to reduce cost of doing business.
Stressing on the adoption of totally automated system in CBR and field formations, he confidently told the commissioner that they would be experts of international level if they succeeded in implementing what we are planning to do. Once we have our system and procedures in place, everybody sitting in this hall, will have a remarkable role to play, he assured the tax officers. "In this regard, we also need help and government support as we may have to take hard and difficult decisions in the days ahead."
Expressing pleasure on liquidation of almost all tax appeals at the department level, the chairman hoped that a similar situation will emerge at the level of tribunals and higher courts shortly.
He informed the participants that he held a meeting with Chief Justice of Pakistan the other day who has very kindly agreed for disposal of remaining about 300 tax appeals, pending in the apex court, shortly.
Member legal Mumtaz Ahmed Sheikh, in his presentation, informed the meeting that a strategy was being evolved, in collaboration with Appellate Tribunals, aimed at disposing of 90 percent of the remaining 12,000 appeals (all taxes), pending at tribunal level, by June, 2007. He requested the commissioners to identify important revenue cases for early decision.
He informed that we were having on 55,000 appeals on direct taxes side at Commissionerate level in 2003-04, now the number has been reduced to 1320 which are all fresh.