Individuals who manually file their income tax returns will now be eligiblefor the same tax benefits as those who file electronically.Manual incometax filers will receive reduced rates of withholding taxes, aligning withelectronic filers.
The Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has directed the Federal Board of Revenue(FBR) to implement measures and establish Standard Operating Procedures(SOPs) to ensure that all manual income tax filers for the latest tax yearare considered active based on FBR’s Active Taxpayer List (ATL).
A prominent tax lawyer, Waheed Shahzad Butt, brought this issue to theFTO’s attention through a public interest complaint. Following aninvestigation and discussions with FBR officials, the matter was resolvedwithout resorting to litigation, saving taxpayer money.
Waheed Shahzad Butt expressed concern that despite the FBR’s responsibilityto ensure fair taxation, manual tax filers have faced unjust discriminationcompared to electronic filers. This lack of consideration for thisvulnerable taxpayer group has faced criticism from various quarters.
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Waheed also highlighted the FBR’s direct violation of Rule 73 of Income TaxRules 2002, which resulted in some taxpayers being unjustly excluded fromthe ATL database, despite filing their income tax returns on time for TaxYear 2022.