Complaints of 500 taxpayers resolved: Sardar Ali Khawaja

During a press conference in Peshawar, Federal Tax Ombudsman Advisor Sardar Ali Khawaja stated that 583 complaints were received over the past year, most of which pertained to income tax, sales tax, and customs.
He further explained that over 500 complaints have been resolved so far, ensuring taxpayers received their due rights, while the remaining complaints are under process.
He revealed that at the central level, a record number of 13,500 complaints were received in the last year. Among these, 12,900 complaints were addressed within 60 days, providing relief to taxpayers.
Sardar Ali Khawaja highlighted that tax-related complaints can be registered online or via telephone. Complaints can be lodged through the Federal Tax Ombudsman’s website, email, and the mobile app “FTO Portal,” which also facilitates online hearings after investigations.
Every complaint is investigated and resolved within 30 days, while the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is given 45 days to implement decisions. In case of non-compliance, disciplinary actions are taken.
He informed the public that the Federal Tax Ombudsman resolves issues related to any illegal tax procedures, unnecessary tax notices, delays in legitimate refunds, determination of tax exemptions, discriminatory behavior by FBR officials, misuse of authority, negligence, and unprofessional conduct.
He added that in the past year, not only have refunds worth millions of rupees been paid, but numerous public interest complaints have also been addressed. These include:
Payment of due refunds under rebates for full-time teachers and researchers.
Stopping tax deductions from part-time employees of PTV, Radio Pakistan, Arts Councils, and other institutions earning less than PKR 50,000 per month.
Preventing illegal collection of sales tax worth millions of rupees from hundreds of printers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Refunding PKR 30 million collected under sales tax from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Textbook Board.
Sardar Ali Khawaja encouraged citizens to lodge their complaints through the following link:
http://onlinecomplaints.cloudns.asia:4041/presentation/onlinecomplaint