The Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) received a record number of 13,506 complaints against the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and disposed of 12,941 complaints, mostly in favor of taxpayers, during 2024.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday at the FTO Headquarters, FTO officials informed that during the last calendar year ending December 31, 2024, the FTO office received an all-time high number of complaints at 13,506.
Simultaneously, under the visionary leadership of the Federal Tax Ombudsman, the FTO Secretariat and all Regional Offices disposed of 12,941 complaints, which accounts for 95.6% of the total complaints. This all-time high number of complaints is attributed to vigorous awareness sessions conducted by the FTO and his Advisors throughout the country. The Chambers of Commerce & Industry in all major cities, Tax Bar Associations, Business Community Associations, and tax law practicing bodies were targeted to disseminate information about the role and functions of the FTO organization, which resulted in this significant number of complaints.
As a result of the outreach and awareness sessions, a record number of complaints were received, and decisions by the Hon’ble FTO were rolled out. Consequently, the grievances of thousands of complainants were redressed.
During the year under review, in addition to regular complaints, the FTO also encouraged poor and less privileged complainants to seek informal resolution of their grievances. As a result, 1,540 informal complaints were received and resolved. Additionally, 143 reference cases were received and disposed of. The total number of Own Motion initiatives stood at 32, through which relief was granted to a large number of complainants and individuals.
Since the FTO organization is a relief-oriented entity, the Secretariat provided relief to low-paid employees by ensuring proper taxation. Furthermore, thousands of folk artists were provided relief by addressing issues related to ongoing withholding taxes. Similarly, relief on account of tax rebates for teachers was also provided in a large number of cases, FTO officials added.
