KARACHI (May 13 2003) : The Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has decided to approach President and Prime Minister of Pakistan, Ministers for finance and economic affairs, commerce and legislators to seek support for appropriate amendment in Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Ordinance so as to strengthen the institution of FTO.
The unanimous decision was made in a meeting of FPCCI held in Lahore recently. They proposed following amendments.
1. The FTO should always be a person who is or has been a confirmed judge of Supreme Court.
2. Any observation by FTO concerning the tax laws should always be regarded as a reasonable basis for appropriate legislative changes in the tax laws.
3. The jurisdiction of FTO should be extended to include all functionaries dealing with tax matters.
4. The FTO should be empowered to issue stay orders where appropriate under provision 1999 (4A).
5. The FTO should have finance and administrative autonomy as admissible under the law to superior courts.
6. Any observations of the FTO concerning the conduct of any tax functionary should be placed in the service record of the officer concerned.
7. The FTO should have adequate authority to deal with all tax related matters whether pending before the FTO or otherwise to give effect to this suggestion section 9(2)(B) of FTO ordinance may be suitably amended.
8. Section 33 of FTO ordinance (informal resolution of Dispute) may be so amended as to make the recommendations of the FTO legally binding on all parties concerned.
