FBR directed to withdraw weak tax cases

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to constitute a panel of experts to identify frivolous cases and take practical steps to resolve all revenue-related cases as soon as possible. During a meeting to review various options to expedite legal cases, the premier issued this directive to FBR and Law Division officials. As many as 33,522 cases worth Rs4.7 trillion are currently pending nationwide in various courts and tribunals. It was decided that the panel of tax experts would soon be notified to review the existing cases and recommend the withdrawal of the weak cases immediately. The panel will also suggest those high-potential cases where the department can raise taxes. The meeting adopted three main decisions to handle the pending cases. It was decided that digital guidelines for assessing officers should be produced so that they could make effective decisions and eliminate frivolous cases.