LTO Islamabad Establishes Regional Integrity Committee

ISLAMABAD: The Large Taxpayers’ Office (LTO) Islamabad has formed a Regional Integrity Committee (RIC) with the participation of tax officials, representatives from the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI), and the Islamabad-Rawalpindi Tax Bar Association. The committee’s mandate is to report instances related to corruption.

According to an official order issued by LTO Islamabad on Thursday, Commissioner Inland Revenue Reema Masud will preside over the RIC as chairperson. The vice chairman will be Nasir M Quershi, president of ICCI. Other members of the RIC include Babar Bilal, an advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan; Qurratul in Ali Khan, Additional Commissioner IR; Shah Bahar, Additional Commissioner, Headquarters; and Nadaruz Zaman Barlas, who will serve as the member/secretary of the committee.

The RIC will act as the primary entity for LTO Islamabad/FBR concerning integrity matters, addressing all integrity-related issues and complaints lodged by taxpayers and the general public against officers and officials within LTO Islamabad.

The committee is required to submit its findings to the chief commissioner of LTO Islamabad. This is to ensure proper coordination with the Chief, IMC, IPMU, facilitated through the member IR Operations.

The RIC is also tasked with identifying the underlying causes of integrity-related problems that may arise within LTO Islamabad. It will then provide recommendations, routed through the appropriate channels, to the FBR for resolving these issues.

The RIC must adhere to all relevant Terms of Reference (TORs) established by the Board to ensure transparent, fair, and judicious handling of complaints.

The stipulated timeframe for the RIC to resolve complaints is 30 days. This period may be extended by an additional 30 days by the In-Charge of the Integrity Management Cell (IMC), FBR, following a formal request submitted through the correct procedure.

The RIC, LTO, Islamabad, is required to submit a monthly performance report using the prescribed format (Annex-I). This report should include the total number of complaints received, the status of pending actions, and the number of complaints resolved during the month. The report must be submitted to the IMC, FBR, with notification to the Chief Commissioner-IR, LTO, Islamabad, before the 15th of each month. The notification confirms that the issuance of this order has been approved by the Chief Commissioner-IR, Large Taxpayers’ Office, Islamabad.