ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has instructed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to assemble a group of specialists to weed out pointless cases and take proactive measures to expedite the resolution of all revenue-related matters.
The premier gave this order to FBR and Law Division officials during a meeting to discuss ways to speed up court cases.
There are currently 33,522 cases totaling Rs4.7 trillion pending in different courts and tribunals across the country. It was agreed that the tax experts’ panel would be alerted shortly to examine the current cases and suggest that the weaker ones be immediately withdrawn. Additionally, the panel will recommend high-potential situations in which the department may raise taxes.
Three key decisions were made at the meeting to deal with the outstanding cases. It was determined that in order for officers to make wise decisions and get rid of pointless cases, digital rules for evaluating officers should be created.
To quickly recoup revenue that has been hung up, the PM orders the creation of an expert panel.
The tax specialists will be consulted during the development of the recommendations. Additionally, rather than using the recently appointed department representatives to defend their cases in appellate tribunals, the original assessing officers will do so. It was also determined that competitive exams would be used to speed up the process of finding four to five members with good reputations for the tax appellate tribunal.
According to a prime minister secretariat notice, the premier gave the FBR instructions to select respectable attorneys for situations involving tax collection.
According to the PM, the administration is rapidly putting the FBR reforms into practice, with encouraging outcomes. Additionally, he oversaw a forensic audit of the instances pertaining to revenue. According to him, cops who fabricate cases on flimsy or inaccurate grounds will face appropriate repercussions. Nonetheless, he stated that special awards have to be given to individuals who build cases on the basis of integrity and diligence.
The gathering was told that, following the prime minister’s order, 586 cases in the high courts and 637 cases in the Supreme Court were resolved between July and December of last year as a result of the panel’s inclusion of respectable attorneys.
The premier was notified that the FBR has created a lawsuit management dashboard for higher courts. Nonetheless, the Ministry of Law and Justice is nearing completion on the tax tribunals administration system, which will be introduced shortly.
