950815

CBR further

simplifies

tax forms

RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: The CBR has given more facility to the tax payers after it back-tracked by reducing the items of personal expenditure from six to three to be shown in the new income tax returns.

The new facility is that even incomplete tax forms will not be declared invalid as was announced earlier by the CBR.

Member Income Tax Policy Ahmed Khan told Business Recorder that vested groups have been giving misleading reports regarding the contents of the new income tax forms.

The new tax forms, he added, for all categories of tax payers asking information on personal expenditure contains only six items and not seventeen as stated by the vested groups.

The Member added that the Prime Minister has been pleased to direct the Central Board of Revenue that even out of the six items, information should be restricted to only three items namely expenditure on mobile telephone, expenditure on education if the fee per month is more than Rs 500 and expenditure on private trips abroad.

The member further stated that the CBR will also be willing to accept and extend the facility of completing the deficiencies in the income tax return if the tax payer is not able to submit necessary documents.

Such returns he added will not be rejected as invalid as purported earlier. This facility has been specially extended by the Prime Minister in view of the revision in the format of the tax return.

It may be pointed out that the new tax returns will be available in all Income Tax offices next week. About two million forms are being published. Their despatch starts within two days.

The form seeks information on personal expenditure on six items. These are: mobile telephone with telephone number and amount; residential telephone number and amount; residential electricity charges, its meter number; educational expenses if the fee of a child is more than Rs 500 per month with details of childrens' names, school's name and annual fee; motor vehicles expenses privately owned/maintained of more than 800 CC, and expenses on private foreign trips indicating number of trips passport number and amount spent.

Following the concession allowed by the Prime Minister now no information is sought - though these continue on the form - in regard to expenses on residential telephone, residential electricity and expenses on motor vehicles of more than 800 CC.

The latest concession is the flexibility shown in regard to the acceptance of the tax return even if certain documents are not submitted.