Under the new e-audit system, the taxpayer or his authorised representative will not be obliged to personally appear before Inland Revenue officers during the audit proceedings, according to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
Through a notification to alter Income Tax Rules, 2002, the FBR has created a method for e-audit.

Under the new e-audit system, the taxpayer or his authorised representative will not be obliged to personally appear before Inland Revenue officers during the audit proceedings, according to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).

Through a notification to alter Income Tax Rules, 2002, the FBR has created a method for e-audit.

The Automated Case Selection System will handle the cases selected for e-audit, creating an assignment for providing notices to the taxpayer through the IRIS in response to the audit selection.

The Automated Case Selection System will configure a list of Inland Revenue officers to whom the case can be allocated, as well as a list of cases to be marked across the jurisdiction, and then notify the appropriate Commissioner IR.

As noted in the audit report, the Automated Case Selection System will configure and assign the case to an Adjudication Officer across the jurisdiction to make an order for tax assessment under Section 122, including the imposition of penalty and default surcharge per sections 182 and 205 of the Ordinance if necessary.

Where the case has been assigned by the Automated Case Selection System, the responsible Commissioner of Inland Revenue shall serve a notice detailing the reasons for his case being selected for audit by the Automated Case Selection System.

The taxpayer must submit the record or papers, including books of accounts kept under the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, to the Board’s IRIS or electronic data carrier.

In connection with any e-audit procedures before an officer of the Inland Revenue, the taxpayer is not needed to appear physically or through an authorised representative.

Personal hearing requests must be made through the IRIS and may be granted in allocated jurisdiction, and such hearings must be performed entirely via video links from a personal computer system or any of the nearest Tax Facilitation Centres located at the various tax offices, as applicable.

The audit officer may conclude the case and send it to the Automated Case Selection System if there is no discrepancy or conclusive evidence against the taxpayer.

If the audit officer assigned to the case disagrees with the stated version and requests an order for tax assessment, he must create an audit report comprising audit observations/findings and send it to the taxpayer via IRIS and the Automated Case Selection System at the same time.