KARACHI: The officers of Inland Revenue have been authorized to recover tax for refund amount erroneously issued to taxpayer along with penalties and default surcharge.
According to updated Sales Tax Act, 1990 issued by Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Section 11 of the Act explained the powers of IR officials for assessment of tax and recovery of tax not levied or short levied or erroneously refunded.
Section 11: Assessment of Tax & Recovery of Tax not levied or short levied or erroneously refunded
Sub-Section (1): Where a person who is required to file a tax return fails to file the return for a tax period by the due date or pays an amount which, for some miscalculation is less than the amount of tax actually payable, an officer of Inland Revenue shall, after a notice to show cause to such person, make an order for assessment of tax, including imposition of penalty and default surcharge in accordance with sections 33 and 34:
Provided that where a person required to file a tax return files the return after the due date and pays the amount of tax payable in accordance with the tax return along with default surcharge and penalty, the notice to show cause and the order of assessment shall abate.
Sub-Section (2): Where a person has not paid the tax due on supplies made by him or has made short payment or has claimed input tax credit or refund which is not admissible under this Act for reasons other than those specified in sub-section (1), an officer of Inland Revenue shall after a notice to show cause to such person, make an order for assessment of tax actually payable by that person or determine the amount of tax credit or tax refund which he has unlawfully claimed and shall impose a penalty and charge default surcharge in accordance with sections 33 and 34.
Sub-Section (3): Where by reason of some collusion or deliberate Act any tax or charge has not been levied or made or has been short levied or has been erroneously refunded, the person liable to pay any amount of tax or charge or the amount of fund erroneously made shall be served with the notice requiring him to show cause for payment of the amount specified in the notice.
Sub-Section (4): Where, by reason of any inadvertence, error or misconstruction any tax or charge has not been levied or made or has been short-levied or has been erroneously refunded, the person liable to the amount of tax or charge or the amount of refund erroneously made shall be served with a notice requiring him to show cause for payment of the amount specified in the notice;
Provided that, where a tax or charge has not been levied under this sub section the amount of tax shall be recovered as tax fraction of the value of supply.
Sub-Section (4A): Where any person, required to withhold sales tax under the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder, fails to withhold the tax or withholds the same but fails to deposit the same in the prescribed manner, an officer of Inland Revenue shall after a notice to such person to show cause, determine the amount in default.
Sub-Section (5): No order under this section shall be made by an officer of Inland Revenue unless a notice to show cause is given within five years, of the relevant date, to the person in default specifying the grounds on which it is intended to proceed against him and the officer of Sales Tax shall take into consideration the representation made by such person and provide him with an opportunity of being heard:
Provided that order under this section shall be made within one hundred and twenty days of issuance of show cause notice or within such extended period as the Commissioner may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, fix provided that such extended period shall in no case exceed ninety days:
Provided further that any period during which the proceedings are adjourned on account of a stay order or Alternative Dispute Resolution proceedings or the time taken through adjournment by the petitioner not exceeding sixty days shall be excluded from the computation of the period specified in the first proviso.
Sub-Section (6): Notwithstanding anything in sub-section (1), where a registered person fails to file a return, an officer of Inland Revenue, not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner, shall subject to such conditions as specified by the Federal Board of Revenue, determine the minimum tax liability of the registered person.
Sub-Section (7): For the purpose of this section, the expression “relevant date” means—
(a) the time of payment of tax or charge as provided under section 6; and
(b) in a case where tax or charge has been erroneously refunded, the date of its refund.
