KARACHI, May 19: The Southern Region of Income Tax, Karachi has disbursed over Rs40 million towards refund claims during last seven months (Oct to April), official sources said on Wednesday.

Sources said all the refund claims up to Rs10,000 had been cleared by the region under the instruction of Central Board of Revenue (CBR). Regarding other claims of more than Rs10,000, the sources said, their payment would be made after making proper verification and assessments.

Replying to a question, an official of local tax offices said that these refund claims would also be cleared very soon but since the amounts were big proper verifications have to be made.

Besides internal audit, two other audits - external and departmental - would be carried out before making payments, the sources said. Under normal process a challan of paid tax is filed, which is followed by a verification and only then refund voucher is issued.

The official further said that some changes had been made in the process of giving registration to income tax practitioners (ITP). Under new system the Regional Commissioner of Income Tax (RCIT) would inter-act with or interview the applicant before issuing registration certificate.

Furthermore, the new licence would carry a photo of the holder so that it could not be misused. Presently, some ITPs are using others licences. In total there are 493 ITPs in the Karachi region and around 210 new are under process.

Sources said that a minimum requirement to become an ITP is B.Com or graduate in Law. Tax official up to deputy commissioner having 10 years experience could also get ITP registration. Chartered Accountants or graduate from Institute of Cost and Management could also become an ITP.