February 28, 2008	Thursday	Safar 20, 1429

LARKANA, Feb 27: Income tax bar associations of Larkana and Sukkur have criticised the procedure for selection of tax cases pertaining to Sukkur zone for audit.

A meeting held on Wednesday noted with concern that the Commissioner Income Tax, Sukkur zone, was taking up taxpayers cases for audit without any concrete material evidence, which marks contravention of government’s Universal Self Assessment Scheme (USAS).

The relevant rules require picking up 3 to 5 per cent cases for audit but the zonal office has selected far more cases for the purpose. Instead of searching for new taxpayers the old ones were unnecessarily being harassed, which in turn had shaken their confidence in the tax system, the meeting noted.

Both the tax bar associations supported audit of the income taxpayers but suggested that this should be done by remaining within the orbit of laws and permitted rules.

Calling for doing away with the practice of misuse of laws the associations complained that the zonal income tax office provided no facilities to the taxpayers in the region.

The taxpayers had to wait for days for their refunds and instead of minimising direct contact between the taxpayers and the tax collectors as per the set policy of the government the income tax field staff was harassing the taxpayers.

The meeting suggested that the department should tap new taxpayers, instead of putting burden on the existing one, to widen the tax net and to create a congenial atmosphere necessary for boosting revenue.