RAWALPINDI (September 05 2003) : The Central Board of Revenue (CBR) has decided to accept the tax return forms without filling the oath undertaking and details about the returns, said Wakil Ahmed Khan, Member Tax CBR, here on Thursday.
He was talking to a delegation of Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI), which met him under the leadership of Osman Khalid Waheed, President RCCI.
Other senior officials of the chamber were also present in the meeting.
Wakil Ahmed Khan said that it was a long standing demand of the traders community of Pakistan that they should not be forced to fill the oath form when filing tax returns, and details should also not be asked.
“We discussed it with experts and decided that the tax payers should not be forced to fill the oath form and other details about the returns,” he added.
The CBR will accept the forms without oath and without filling in the details, he said adding that this will redress the grievances of the taxpayers.
The main objective of the CBR is to facilitate taxpayers and widen the tax net in order to lead the country towards economic stability, member tax said, adding that the board needs the cooperation of the traders, exporters and other taxpayers for making its operation smooth.
He assured the president RCCI and other members that the CBR will leave no stone unturned for providing better facilities to the taxpayers.
Osman Khalid, while hailing the gesture of the CBR, said that this would restore the confidence of the business community on the tax system of the country.
“Traders had grievances with the tax system and Self Assessment Scheme and they were not ready to fill the oath form and details,” he said.
The CBR, by removing these controversial sections from the returns form, has addressed the very old demand of the traders and other taxpayers, he said.
“We raised this issue on all forums and demanded that government should make the tax system easy in order to enhance the tax net”, he added.
Osman Khalid demanded that the CBR should take further measures to provide more facilities to the taxpayers and restore their confidence in the tax system.
