KARACHI: The Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA) has appealed to Sindh Ombudsman to bring the Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) under its jurisdiction for providing speedy relief and removing grievances of the taxpayers.

KTBA President Muhammad Zubair in a letter to Sindh Ombuds-man Asad Ashraf Malik has pointed out that after the 18th Amendment the provinces are vested with greater responsibilities including collection of sales tax on services.

The SRB was, therefore, established in July 2011 and Sindh Sales Tax on Services Act was promulgated the same day and has since been functioning. However, in the absence of an independent appellate the taxpayers feel vulnerable because remedies available under the Act can only be granted by the SRB. This generates trust deficit as taxpayers do not expect the SRB to provide relief on complaints moved against it.

Even at the federal level, the KTBA stated that relief is being provided to taxpayers by the Federal Tax Ombudsman as all the federal government revenue collecting agencies fall under its jurisdiction.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2015

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