LARKANA: The Pakis­tan Medical Association (PMA), Larkana chapter, has condemned FBR officials’ raids, seizures of records and bulk audit of medical centres, clinics and other health facilities in Larkana region.

In a press statement, PMA Larkana President-elect Dr Sikandar Mughal on Tuesday condemned the FBR’s dealings with doctors and medical centres in connection with recoveries for the 2025 taxes.

It said that FBR officials were conducting “unlawful” raids on the premises of doctors and medical centres and forcibly seizing their records. “They are compelling compliant and tax-paying medical professionals to file revised returns of income declaring substantially enhanced tax liabilities — all without provision of any documentary evidence, audit findings, third-party information, or any other legal justification as mandated under the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001,” the statement said.

Expressing its concern over the action, it strongly criticised the bulk selection of doctors and medical centres for audit under Section 177 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, originating from the office of the chief commissioner inland revenue (CCIR), RTO Sukkur.

Demands immediate halt to raids on large scale in Larkana, return of seized records

“It appears to lack lawful basis and amounts to intimidation, and an abuse of statutory authority,” it said.

The issuance of letters to various government and semi-government departments and regulatory authorities under Section 176(1)(a) for the obtaining of the records without a legally valid predicate constitutes a grave infringement of the rights of law-abiding taxpayers, according to the statement.

“The victimisation directed against legal professionals, advocates and tax consultants of Larkana who have been representing doctors and medical professionals in proceedings before the tax authorities have themselves been selected for audit — an act that PMA Larkana regards as a deliberate attempt to intimidate legal advisers and to deter them from discharging their professional and constitutional obligations,” the statement said.

The Larkana PMA demanded immediate withdrawal of all letters issued to third-party departments and authorities under Section 176(1)(a) in respect of doctors and medical centres. It also demanded a halt to the raids and return of the records.

“No doctor, medical centre, or legal professional be subjected to any punitive action for exercising their lawful rights under the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001,” it said, adding that the association stood for a transparent inquiry conducted by the FBR chairman and competent authorities into these actions.

The PMA called for negotiations to hammer out an amicable resolution of all outstanding matters, and urged the FBR chairman, federal finance minister and all relevant authorities to take immediate notice of the situation and ensure that the rights of taxpaying medical professionals and their legal representatives were fully protected.

The association might move the judiciary for relief, Dr Mughal said.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2026