President Dr Arif Alvi on Sunday offered his apology to the 82-year-old taxpayer, who faced injustice and misconduct from the employee of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
President Alvi had urged the FBR to take strict action against an employee over irresponsibility and malpractices.
President Alvi added, FBR officer had forced a senior citizen to sue for more than a year over meager refund of Rs2,333.
He said that punitive action must be taken against all the decision-makers involved in the case.
President Alvi said because of the difficulties faced by the senior citizens at the hands of FBR, we must bow our heads in shame.
President expresses displeasure over FBR official for wasting the time of his department, tax ombudsman and of himself.
Alvi said that not a single officer in the long line of bureaucrats in the FBR was able to consider the matter.
The President urged the Chairman FBR to arrange courses for the officials and other officers to learn the lessons of priorities and politeness.
If the unit officer was not satisfied with the copies of the certificates, he could verify with the concerned company and online system, Alvi added.
President Alvi said that Regardless of the authenticity of the certificate, it was the responsibility of the officer to verify the tax deduction from the concerned authorities. Avoiding verification of bills through an online system is mismanagement of FBR officer, Alvi added.
Alvi said the officer through his act mocked the FBR's laws, procedures and guidelines.
This is a very regrettable and shameful use of bureaucratic authority, he added.
It is pertinent to mention that Abdul Hameed Khan had filed a refund claim of Rs2,333 on his income tax return for the year 2020.
Elderly citizen submitted required documents for an advance tax deduction on Pakistan Telecommunication Limited (PTCL) and cell phone company bills.
As per the details, the FBR unit officer had reject the refund claim for not providing the original certificate.
The citizen had raised the matter with the Federal Tax Ombudsman to resolve the complaint, according to the details.
The tax ombudsman had ordered to reconsider the decision and take disciplinary action against the responsible officer.
The FBR had appealed to the President against the decision of the Federal Ombudsman, which was rejected by President Alvi.
Reporter: Awais Kiyani