The Appellate Tribunal of Inland Revenue (ATIR) in Islamabad has dismissed an appeal filed by an overseas Pakistani over the use of electronically scanned signatures on the affidavit and appeal documents.
The two-member First Division panel of ATIR issued the decision in favor of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), raising concerns among tax professionals about the implications for non-resident individuals. Tax consultants described the ruling as “harsh” for overseas Pakistanis who face challenges in sending manually signed documents from abroad.
The dismissed case relates to an individual who filed an e-income tax return for the tax year in question, declaring income of Rs 9,285,590. The return was deemed to be an original assessment under Section 120(1) of the Income Tax Act. However, the FBR selected the case for audit under Section 214C of the Act, notifying the taxpayer via the IRIS system.
In response to the audit, the taxpayer submitted an online response and supporting documents on March 15, 2024, but the response was found to be unsatisfactory. Therefore, an order was made under section 122(1) of the Act on 20 May 2024. The taxpayer has appealed this order before the ATIR on various grounds.
ATIR noted that the appeal and accompanying applications carried electronically scanned signatures, which is not permitted under the law. The court stated that the power of attorney (POA) provided did not expressly authorize the taxpayer’s representative—a firm of public accountants—to file an appeal, although it was granted authority to represent, argue, and collect orders.
The ATIR Order made clear that filing an appeal is a distinct legal procedure that requires express authorization in a power of attorney. In addition, the appeal was filed after the deadline, and the request for affidavit and forgiveness filed due to the delay contained scanned signatures.
While the taxpayer is a non-resident living abroad, the power of attorney was signed by two witnesses and authenticated by a notary public in Islamabad. However, the court ruled that these actions did not meet the legal requirement for filing an appeal, which led to the case being dismissed.
The decision has intensified calls for the FBR to address overseas taxpayer complaints, particularly by enabling the use of digital signatures in legal and tax-related filings.
Tax professionals urged the FBR to amend the law to accept electronically scanned signatures for appeals, focusing on the additional costs and logistical hurdles non-resident taxpayers face when using international courier services to submit handwritten signatures.