HYDERABAD: The chief commissioner regional tax office Hyderabad has urged businessmen to benefit from the amnesty scheme announced by the government and declare their undisclosed assets by June 30, adding that it was the last chance of declaration of assets as the federal government has decided to take action against tax defaulters.

Shahid Baloch was addressing an amnesty scheme awareness programme arranged at the secretariat of Hyderabad SITE Association of Trade and Industry on Wednesday.

He said the prime objective of scheme was to bring maximum people into tax net to generate maximum revenue. He said the regional tax office had set up an awareness desk to disseminate information about the amnesty scheme.

Information is also being communicated through display of banners, distribution of pamphlets, media advertisement and through short messaging services so that maximum number of people could get advantage of the amnesty scheme, he added.

He said the federal government was committed to enhance numbers of taxpayers to generate maximum revenue. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) was extending cooperation not only to remove reservations of taxpayers, but also to provide facilities to them, he said. He called upon people to become tax filers and play their role in boosting economy.

He said the FBR was fully committed to ensure friendly atmosphere for taxpayers so that they could feel no hesitation while submitting data. He called upon business community not to get hesitant while visiting tax offices where officers concerned were ready to facilitate them. He assured industrialists that facilities would be provided to the registered industrial units of SITE Hyderabad.

Hyderabad SITE Association of Trade and Industry chairman Shahid Kaimkhani appreciated announcement of the amnesty scheme and termed it right decision to stabilise economy. He thanked the chief commissioner and his team members for launching awareness programme regarding the scheme. Such programmes would help in bridging gap between industrialists and tax collectors, he added.

He said the business community was ready to extend cooperation with tax collectors, but unnecessary harassment was creating misunderstanding among the community members, which could only be bridged by providing required facilities from the government. If industrialists and factory owners received facilities, quantum of export could be enhanced and earning of foreign exchange could be utilised.

Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2019