LAHORE: Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Adviser Mian Munawar Ghafoor heard the pending appeal of tax refund filed by proprietors of Haram Enterprises on Wednesday against the Regional Tax Office (RTO-II) Lahore.
During proceedings of the case, the counsel for the appellant argued that the RTO-II had failed to release the sales tax refund to the appellant since two years.
He said the RTO-II has collected excessive taxes from the company during last two years. The petitioner M/s Haram Enterprises approached the officials concerned several times for release of refund, but the RTO officials failed to clear refunds even after lapse of a reasonable time.
Finally, the appellant decided to approach the FTO seeking his intervention in the case. The counsel appealed the FTO adviser to order the RTO-II to clear the refund claims on priority basis.
The counsel further said that delay in release of refunds put the burden on taxpayer, adding that the RTO-II should make audit of the case and release the extra amount collected from the taxpayer.
On the other hand, counsel for RTO-II argued that the appellant has not submitted complete record to the office for claiming refunds. If he provides the accurate record, the Regional Tax Office (RTO-II) will release refunds after a proper assessment, he maintained.
After hearing arguments from both sides, adviser to FTO Mian Munawar Ghafoor adjourned the case till next date of hearing and he also sought all the relevant record of the same case.