ISLAMABAD, Jan 18: The government will seek investigation agencies help to initiate inquiries against tax officials involved in corrupt practices in order to make tax machinery a taxpayers friendly organization.

The decision was taken following the observation that the tax officials were not properly/ impartially conducting inquiries against the colleague officials, who were found involved in malpractices.

Giving presentation to the top tax officials here on Saturday, Federal Tax Ombudsman Justice Saleem Akhtar said the agencies, to be involved in the investigation process, would include National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and police sources for carrying out just investigation against the officials.

The FTO would further keep monitoring the investigation process of these agencies to maintain transparency in the process, he said.

The Ombudsman observed that although there were departmental rules and provisions of law to adopt measures for cleaning the administration from corruption, inefficiency and other charges, this law is not being put in practice.

“Yet I find during the last two years that either the department is helpless, slow or does not have the will to take action against tax employees. Even in cases in which we have recommended for disciplinary action, in majority no corrective results have been brought during the inquiry, which are conducted mostly at the officers level of the department,” he said.

The Ombudsman said it was also found that there was a great fear among the tax officials to take decision, which resulted in malpractices. Unlike past, the government would not let the tax administration to be used as a weapon to harass the opponents as was done in the past, he added.

He said the government would provide protection to those officials who feared any kind of insecurity, while making any decisions according to law without fear or favour.

He recommended to the CBR that the officers and staff members should act within the parameters of law, rules and regulations and if they are corrupt, inefficient or undisciplined, corrective measures should be adopted and likewise efficient and honest officers and members of the staff should be encouraged and rewarded.

Meanwhile, talking to newsmen, the Ombudsman said indiscipline among tax officials was not only tarnishing the image of the tax administration, but also resulting in widening of gap between the tax officials and taxpayers.

The Ombudsman said during the last two years it was found that a tendency of indiscipline had been developed amongst the tax officials to disregard provisions of law, rules, regulations and instructions issued by the Central Board of Revenue.

“Non implementation of decision of tribunal and even superior courts by the tax officials are also common occurrence. This results into harassment of taxpayers and no relief is available to the taxpayers from the department,” he said.

Elaborating the two years performance of FTO office and recommendations to the CBR, Ombudsman said that generally it was noticed that the taxpayers genuinely feel aggrieved by the conduct and actions of the tax officials.

These aggrieved actions on the part of the tax officials included arbitrary actions, unjust decisions, unreasonable conduct of the officials, improper or non-service of notices and orders, inflated assessment, coercive measures to collect such assessed taxes, refusal to pay the admissible and due amount of refunds. The others included duty drawback inefficiency, lack of responsiveness to the problems of the taxpayers, non-maintenance of record, personal contacts with the assessee and biased approach in cases very often on mala fide and corrupt motives, loss and misplacement of files and records, lack of supervision and effective check and indiscipline in the hierarchy of officers and staff members.

The Ombudsman further said that it was also observed that the letters, applications and reminders sent by the taxpayers were generally ignored by all level of officers as a matter of practice.