The Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has reminded the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) that tax notices or communications must be sent to taxpayers through email or SMS, as merely uploading notices on the IRIS portal does not constitute valid legal service.
According to the FTO’s directive, posting a notice only on the IRIS portal does not qualify as proper service under Rule 74 of the Income Tax Rules, 2002, and Section 218(1)(d) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.
The FTO further emphasized that the department’s IT system should ensure that taxpayers are informed via SMS or email about any development or notice. Expecting every taxpayer to check their IRIS profile daily is unreasonable and contrary to the principles of fairness and justice.
In this case, the complainant—a 78-year-old senior citizen—had declared income from salary, share of profit from an AOP (which is exempt), exempt pension, and profit on debt from bank accounts.
The department had selected the complainant’s case for complete audit for tax years 2014 and 2015 through computerized balloting under Section 214C of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.
