KARACHI, May 26: The Large Taxpayers Unit from the next fiscal year will start accepting taxpayers’ statements through electronic mechanism. The system will assist in reducing the burden of filing of such lengthy information on paper.
The LTU has developed a computer system (softweat) regarding withholding tax management to enable taxpayers to file their statements through computer that will also help minimize physical contact with tax officials.
This was stated by LTU director general Akhtar Jamil Khan at the inauguration ceremony of electronic compliance mechanism system at the main Income Tax Building here on Monday.
The LTU DG said though a computerized system for the collection of tax returns and income statements was ready, it would not be implemented without prior approval by the Ministry of Law and Justice. He said the CBR had already approached the minister to get the system vetted.
He also informed the participants that the CBR would soon make it mandatory upon the taxpayers to quote their National Tax Number (NTN). In order to ensure that NTN is easily allotted, the CBR from July 1 will decentralize the allotment of NTN and also relax the conditions. The LTU DG said that only National Identity Card (NIC) and father or husband’s name would be required when applying for NTN, which would be allotted within 24 hours.
Mr Jamil said in the past all the automation and computerization in the income tax department was related to its internal working, which facilitated in compilation of data and revenue collection figures previous done manually.
However, after the computerization, he said, a lot of time was saved. Citing an example, Akhtar Jamil said the revenue collection figures related to
the fiscal year 1971 were finalized in 1983. This is how the time was wasted and the usefulness of any statical figures never remain relevant if they are not available in time, he added.
The LTU DG said so far the income tax department used computers for issuing NTN, accepting of challans, compiling of statics and holding of random ballot, but now in the second phase they were being used to provide facilities to the taxpayers. Mr Jamil said the ‘master index’ was being cleaned from duplicate NTN numbers and other errors in order to make a clean start.
He appreciated the role of young officers, who have taken keen interest in the automation work of the department.
The DG LTU said the working of computerization, which started in 1983 on the behest of member taxes and the then commissioner income tax, was now is moving at a faster pace.
The integration process of all the revenue collecting wings of the CBR is also being carried out in order to collect entire data connected to each taxpayer at any particular point, he added.
When entire system of tax collection is automated and computerized, he said, the contact between the taxpayers and the tax collectors would be minimized, and this would remove a lot of problems being presently confronted by the taxpayers.