ISLAMABAD, Oct 13: Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Ahmad Waqar has called for concerted efforts coupled with innovative steps to broaden the tax base and increase revenue collection.

“It is important that the measures we take to broaden the tax base should be proactive and not reactionary in nature and such measures should be part of an inbuilt mechanism relying on solid data,” he said while speaking to senior tax officials, who gathered in the capital on Monday to attend the second director generals’ conference.

The conference was held to review and improve the pace of revenue collection for the second quarter of the current fiscal year. The meeting decided not to extend, under any circumstances, the last date for the filing of income tax returns and discourage the trend by certain RTOs of extending the time for submission of returns on the due date beyond the office hours.

It was also decided to strengthen the practice of internal tax surveys to broaden the tax base. The meeting decided to widely publicise the investment tax scheme to increase its acceptance among the public.

The chairman felt that the meeting of the director generals and senior officials once in a quarter was a good exercise but it could be more productive and result-oriented if the deliberations were focused and a due care was taken by all to follow up the decisions taken in previous meetings seriously.

Mr Waqar exhorted tax officials, especially those manning large taxpayers units (LTUs) in big cities like Karachi and Lahore, to show more vigour and dedication in enhancing the pace of revenue collection. He said the officials were also required to improve their image as the facilitators and friends of taxpayers, besides helping improve the image of the organisation.

He also urged the officials to provide taxpayers with maximum help and support, especially in matters pertaining to claims of genuine refunds, which should be granted without any delay.

However, he cautioned the officials against unscrupulous elements, who took an undue advantage of the facilitation provided to them to get away with fake and bogus refunds.

The chairman also drew the attention of the officials to the overall micro and macro economic situation with a view to studying the nature and scope of impact it could have on the overall revenue generation and tax collection.

The conference was attended by all DGs of the three large taxpayers units and 13 regional tax offices located across the country.