President Zardari Approves Majority of FTO Orders Against FBR in 2024

President Asif Ali Zardari has validated over 92% of the Federal Tax Ombudsman’s (FTO) directives issued against the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) throughout 2024.

The President’s affirmation of the FTO’s resolutions underscores his commitment to assisting taxpayers, promoting voluntary compliance, and encouraging proper record-keeping. In the majority of instances, President Zardari sided with the taxpayers, ruling against the FBR.

Senior officials from the FTO informed the media at the FTO Headquarters on Tuesday that the FTO reached 12,742 decisions favoring taxpayers in 2024. Only 1,030 of these decisions were contested before the President. The President upheld more than 92% of the FTO’s decisions that favored the taxpayers.

In 2024, a record 13,506 grievances were lodged with the FTO against tax officials. Out of these, 12,914 complaints were resolved, surpassing previous records. This highlights the confidence taxpayers have in the FTO for resolving disputes with FBR officials.

During 2024, the FTO provided guidance on approximately 13,500 complaints. Of these, only 336 were challenged through appeals to the President. The President examined 379 appeals, including those carried forward from 2023, and decided 326 cases in favor of the FTO.

Based on the FTO’s directives in 2024, taxpayers received Rs22.79 billion in refund claims. The average time for resolving complaints was notably reduced to 34.11 days.

In 2024, more than 1,705 complaints were addressed within a few days using informal dispute resolution methods as per Section 33 of the FTO Ordinance. The significant increase in registered complaints in 2024 can be attributed to the 270 outreach sessions conducted by the Federal Tax Ombudsman across Pakistan’s business community and other institutions, according to FTO officials.