FBR Can Now Detect Sales Tax Errors Online

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has launched an online platform to scrutinize sales tax returns and notify taxpayers of any errors or inconsistencies prior to initiating legal proceedings. On September 25, the FBR announced that their computerized system would be able to examine sales tax returns along with other pertinent data to pinpoint potential factual or legal missteps.

Taxpayers would receive an electronic notice via the IRIS system outlining the problem and providing them the opportunity to provide clarification, rectify the mistake or carry out any other remedial steps. Taxpayers would be granted a minimum of seven days to respond. If they fail to respond within this timeframe, the FBR would dispatch a reminder and extend the response period by at least another seven days.

The new system would document the identified discrepancies, the issued notices, and the taxpayer's reactions in the FBR's system dashboard. The appropriate Inland Revenue officer would subsequently review the taxpayer's response and take additional measures as warranted under the Sales Tax Act of 1990 and related rules. This procedure encompasses automated review, analysis, and cross-checking of sales tax returns and other taxpayer data via the FBR's computerized system.