LTU Karachi recovers 99pc of withholding tax

KARACHI: The Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) Karachi has recovered 99 percent of withholding tax by collecting Rs6.07 billion of the notices sent for recovery of Rs6.12 billion, according to the data released on Monday.

About the achievements and performance of all tax departments for completing withholding audits and recoveries made by June 30, the data revealed that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) recovered Rs19.91 billion against the audit demand of Rs28.711 billion, making recovery of 69.37 percent.

The FBR initiated audit of withholding taxes as some taxpayers collected tax on behalf of the revenue body during transactions but they do not comply and avoid or evade the taxes and not remit them to the exchequer.

Tax officials said that the FBR launched the drive to detect flaws in the withholding tax collection by conducting audit, which resulted in significant recovery.

The FBR data revealed that in the audit and recovery performance, the LTU Karachi topped, followed by the LTU Lahore, which collected Rs2.67 billion and the Regional Tax Office (RTO) II with the collection of Rs1.34 billion.

The FBR officials said that the recovery was made possible during the last fiscal year after tax departments initiated monitoring of withholding tax deducted by banks.

It was witnessed that several banks have not complied with the laws regarding withholding tax collection and either avoided the taxes or evaded.

They said that during the current fiscal year, the FBR offices would continue with the detection of concealed amount under withholding tax. The major sectors would remain in focus, including banks, telecom and oil companies.

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