A key recommendation by Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) is pending implementation despite dismissal of FBR''s representation by the President of Pakistan, on the issue of taxpayers'' confidential data/record theft, which shall now be investigated by Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), involving FBR/PRAL officials who illegally accessed confidential data pertaining to taxpayers'' assessment. When contacted tax lawyer Waheed Shahzad Butt, Advocate who represented this case before the FTO and President told this correspondent that in this landmark order FTO holds that any person who, in contravention of Section 216 of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 discloses any particulars of taxpayer''s assessment record is guilty of an offence which is punishable, on conviction, with fine &/or imprisonment.

Earlier President of Pakistan while rejecting the representation filed by Federal Board of Revenue vide order No. 566/FTO in Complaint No.240/LHR/ST(58)/408, has validated the order passed by FTO wherein a landmark case of its first kind was decided by the FTO. Resultantly, a unique case of data theft will be investigated by Cyber Crimes Wing of the FIA and FBR, involving tax/PRAL officers, who illegally accessed confidential taxpayers'' assessment record.

Taking serious notice of the situation, FTO ruled that "leakage of sensitive information from the complainant''s assessment record is evident from the fact that in the complaint filed before the Human Rights Cell of the Hon''ble Supreme Court direct reference has been made to information borne on the complainant''s income tax returns and wealth statements. This shows that the Deptt has not been able to ensure the integrity of complainant''s assessment record and this lapse is tantamount to maladministration as defined in section 2(3) of the FTO Ordinance. The illegal access to complainant''s assessment record also constitutes data theft under section 216 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001".

FTO directed the FBR to conduct enquiry to determine how and why complainant''s assessment record came to be accessed by a number of FBR officials when they were not charged with conducting any enquiry involving him in any manner nor were they involved in the assessment of his income for any tax period and devise a fool proof SOP in consultation with the National Response Centre for Cyber Crimes (NR3C) wing of FIA to protect the confidential data of taxpayers. Counsel and caution CIR Sahiwal Zone, RTO Multan who failed to respond to the complainant''s repeated requests that cognisance be taken of the illegal access of information from his assessment record and enforce strict confidentiality of passwords assigned to field officers for purposes of accessing taxpayer''s electronic record.

A copy of the above Findings/Recommendations along with copy of complaint filed in the Human Rights Cell of the Hon''ble Supreme Court of Pakistan be forwarded to the National Response Centre for Cyber Crimes (NR3C) wing of FIA for initiating criminal investigation into the matter, as per law: FTO ordered.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2017