Member Taxpayers Audit Mr. Haroon Muhammad Khan Tareen visited Regional Tax Office, Faisalabad on 24-10-2014 to review progress on disposal of audit cases pertaining to tax years 2008 to 2012 and discuss strategy for disposal of audit cases of Tax Year 2013.
2. The meeting was attended by Chief Commissioner, Zonal Commissioners and Audit Officers. The following points were discussed:
(I) Expeditious liquidation of pending audit cases relating to tax year 2012 as directed by Board vide C.No.2(40)S(TPA/2014/136481-R dated 30.09.2014 and earlier by 30.11.2014
(II) Disposal of cases pertaining to Tax Year 2013 as per guidelines of the Board circulated vide Audit Policy, 2014.
(III) Progress of entry of cases in TAMS.
3. The Member Taxpayers Audit emphasized speedy disposal of cases, specially those related to Tax Year 2013, and directed that quality of assessment should not be compromised while finalizing the cases. Moreover, he directed the Audit Officers to refrain from unnecessary requisitioning of documents, specially in cases where revenue potential was not very high. The Chief Commissioner IR and Commissioners apprised the Member that standardized parameters for disposal of cases pertaining to different sectors and classes of persons will be devised and disseminated among all Audit Officers for speedy disposal of cases in a consistent manner.
4. The Audit Officers highlighted that it was difficult to meet the timelines for disposal of cases in view of large number of cases selected for Tax Year 2013. Besides, following specific issues/problems came up for discussion:
(I) With available strength of 12 Audit Officers and thin support staff, processing of 6778 cases selected for Audit for Tax Year / Tax Period 2013 as well as pendency of previous years is a difficult task.
(II) It generally takes 10 to 15 minutes for entry of letter/notice/orders per case in TAMS. Therefore, there is urgent need to make TAMS more efficient and “user friendly”.
(III) After issuance of intimation letter/IDR, minimum time of 15 days is to be allowed for compliance. In case of non-compliance / response, at least 03 notices have to be given before issuance of final show cause notices. This causes delay in finalization of the cases as per given timelines.
(IV) As per check list multiple documents are to be requisitioned from the taxpayer which causes delay in finalization of the cases as the taxpayers are unwilling to comply with.
(V) Selection of cases of Salaried Individual, property income and share income from AOP for Audit is in contradiction of Audit Policy, 2014. The matter may be looked into at Board’s level.
(VI) Cases of PTR Income should also be excluded from selection for Audit.
(VII) Where no definite information is available, an institutional mechanism should be devised for disposal through mutual agreement with the taxpayer to realize some quantum of revenue.
5. The Member Taxpayers Audit assured that due consideration will be given to the points raised in the discussion. He also promised special reward for efficient, judicious and pro-revenue assessments in audit cases.
6. The Chief Commissioner thanked the Member for the visit as well as useful guidelines for the audit officers.
