Almas Ali Jovindah

legal advisor, Federal Tax Ombudsman

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Almas Ali Jovindah is the Legal Advisor at the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO). He studied law at Punjab University Law College. He says that around 2012 he turned his focus to introducing cyber laws in Pakistan, and that after the law was passed he had the first exclusive cyber law practice.

Early life and background

Jovindah was born in a small village near Wazirabad, and his family comes from that area. He describes his birthplace as a historical village with a history of about 1,500 years. He did most of his schooling in his home area, with a couple of years in Lahore. [1]

He considered medicine but felt he lacked the aptitude for it. He says a maternal uncle was a State Bank governor who helped develop Saudi Arabia's economic system. He also says an elder in his family was a renowned jurist and an inspiration to him. [1]

Education

Jovindah graduated from FC College Lahore. He then studied law at Punjab University Law College. His law session there ran from 1988 to 1990, and he says it was completed around 1991. He says he was admitted to the college, the premier law college of its time. [1]

Career

During an internship in the courts, Jovindah realised he might be a misfit for the profession. He continued in law in a back-office role rather than litigation, and also did some journalism. He began writing for a newly launched newspaper. He did journalism and back-end law work at the same time for about three to five years. His law office handled incorporation and due diligence for Pakistanis incorporating their businesses. [1]

In the mid to late 1990s he was introduced to a free zone project of the Government of Sharjah. He says that around 2012 he turned his focus to introducing cyber laws in Pakistan. [1]

Cyber law

Jovindah started teaching cyber laws at Quaid-e-Azam Law College in Lahore. He says the college principal invited him to teach. He and the principal began teaching students a diploma or short course in cyber law. [1]

He says that after the law was passed, he had the first exclusive cyber law practice. He says that this cyber law arm is today an exclusive cyber law firm. He says his group later added another law firm and a lobbying firm focused on America. [1]

Federal Tax Ombudsman

Jovindah says he never wanted to work in government service. He says he had a very detailed conversation with the Tax Ombudsman. He says he said he would come only if given a free hand to turn the institution into a model institution under the other person's leadership. He says that when the offer came he felt the challenges could be resolved from the other side of the table. [1]

He says his advisers have about 30 years of experience each. He says he has about 32 years of experience. [1]

Jovindah says the Federal Tax Ombudsman was established in 2000. He says the FTO had seven offices by 2022 and added seven more within a year, bringing the total to 14. He says his office made new regulations for the first time in 22 years and built up the capacity of its staff. He says he introduced internships for young people at his office for the first time. He says digital technology was introduced so that people can sit with them on Zoom or go to regional offices. [1]

He says the FTO now decides complaints in 37 days on average. He says that over 22 years the average time was never 37 days, having been more than 60 to 80 days, before it was brought to 37. He says complaints had never exceeded about 2,600 in a year before, and that in the last year and a half the number reached about 9,500. He says about 6,500 of roughly 7,000 complaints were decided in the past year, with about 75% of complainants given relief. He says the FBR was justified in about one in four complaints. [1]

Jovindah says one verdict gave relief to 10,000 people. He says individual decisions and initiatives of his office have each benefited lakhs of people. [1]

He says his office does not itself interpret the law. He says a notice that gives no time to respond is mal-administration. He says people must go to the first forum first. He says his jurisdiction begins when the first forum does not give relief and the person there harasses, bullies or asks for money in the process. He says that if a claim is not paid within the 60 days it is supposed to take, the 61st day belongs to him and is the other side's mal-administration. [1]

Jovindah says High Courts have begun referring cases of mal-administration to his office. He says his office caught a scam in the steel mill sector involving billions of rupees. He says the only appeal against a decision of his office goes to the President of Pakistan. He says his office has contempt and defiance powers equal to those of a Supreme Court judge. He says a deterrence has been created within the FBR, whose officers now fear it though they did not before. [1]

Views

Jovindah says business, personal communication and relationships were moving online while there was no law. He says cyber crime is currently the biggest crime. He says about 20,000 applications were pending in Lahore, handled by six or seven investigators. He says Pakistani judges are not trained for cyber cases and get only one or two days of training. [1]

He says many European countries review their cyber laws every six months, and that Pakistan has never reviewed its cyber laws. He says unauthorised access to someone's phone and altering or sending their data is a serious crime with two-year sentences. He says digital footprints never disappear and are the easiest evidence in digital crime. He says about 32 countries can trace a cyber criminal and reach them within 48 hours. [1]

Jovindah says justice is very expensive to obtain and, when obtained, is not implemented. He says he has seen that systems are driven by individuals rather than as institutions. He says the next five to seven years are very important. He says his country is the fifth or sixth largest English-speaking country in the world. [1]

He says empowering 150,000 to 200,000 people with technology is better than building a factory. He says Burewala has about 2,000 young people who are drop-shipping experts. [1]

Timeline

1988
Begins a law session at Punjab University Law College, which ran to 1990.[1]
1991
Completes his law session, by his account.[1]
2000
The Federal Tax Ombudsman is established.[1]
2012
Turns his focus to introducing cyber laws in Pakistan.[1]
2022
The Federal Tax Ombudsman has seven offices, with seven more added within a year.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2023-05-24 The tax office that resolves cases in 37 days for free Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Who is Almas Ali Jovindah?

Almas Ali Jovindah is the Legal Advisor at the Federal Tax Ombudsman. He studied law at Punjab University Law College. He says that around 2012 he turned his focus to introducing cyber laws in Pakistan.[1]

Where did Almas Ali Jovindah study?

Almas Ali Jovindah graduated from FC College Lahore. He then studied law at Punjab University Law College, where his law session ran from 1988 to 1990. He says it was completed around 1991.[1]

Where is Almas Ali Jovindah from?

Almas Ali Jovindah says he was born in a small village near Wazirabad, and that his family comes from that area. He describes the village as historical, with a history of about 1,500 years.[1]

What is Almas Ali Jovindah known for?

Almas Ali Jovindah is known as the Legal Advisor at the Federal Tax Ombudsman. He says that around 2012 he turned his focus to introducing cyber laws in Pakistan. He also says that after the law was passed he had the first exclusive cyber law practice.[1]

When was the Federal Tax Ombudsman established?

Almas Ali Jovindah says the Federal Tax Ombudsman was established in 2000. He says it had seven offices by 2022 and added seven more within a year, bringing the total to 14.[1]

How long does the Federal Tax Ombudsman take to decide a complaint?

Almas Ali Jovindah says the FTO now decides complaints in 37 days on average. He says the average time had been more than 60 to 80 days before it was brought to 37. He says about 6,500 of roughly 7,000 complaints were decided in the past year.[1]

References

  1. The tax office that resolves cases in 37 days for free . Thought Behind Things , 2023-05-24.
Show the source passages (69 statements)
  1. Almas Ali Jovindah is the Legal Advisor at the Federal Tax Ombudsman. Almas Ali Jovindah is the Legal Advisor at Federal Tax Ombudsman.
  2. He was born in a small village near Wazirabad. I was born in a small village, used to be small, not small anymore. Wazirabad ke paas ek jagah hai Dhonkal.
  3. His family comes from that area. To wahan se hamari jo Jovinda family hai, that hails from that area.
  4. He describes his birthplace as a historical village with a history of about 1,500 years. Very historical village, is ka history koi taqreeban koi dedh hazaar saal purani hai.
  5. He did most of his schooling in his home area, with a couple of years in Lahore. Schooling ka mostly wahin pe hui. For a couple of years I was in Lahore, but ultimately zyada tar time mera wahin pe guzra.
  6. He graduated from FC College Lahore. Did my graduation from FC College Lahore aur phir then I did my law from Punjab University Law College.
  7. He then studied law at Punjab University Law College. Did my graduation from FC College Lahore aur phir then I did my law from Punjab University Law College.
  8. His law session at Punjab University Law College ran from 1988 to 1990. This was 88-90. 88-90 jo hai us mein that was my jo session tha Punjab University Law College ka
  9. He says his law session was completed around 1991. 90 hamara session koi 91 mein complete hua.
  10. He says he was admitted to Punjab University Law College, the premier law college of its time. jis tarah maine bataya ke I was lucky enough to be admitted in Punjab University Law College, the premier law college of that time.
  11. He considered medicine but felt he lacked the aptitude for it. Medical choice tha. Woh woh choice tha, lekin somehow or the other mujhe laga ke mera aptitude nahi.
  12. He says a maternal uncle was a State Bank governor who helped develop Saudi Arabia's economic system. one of my maternal uncle was Governor State Bank and he was the one jinhon ne Saudi Arabia ka pura economic system jo hai us ko evolve kiya.
  13. He says an elder in his family was a renowned jurist and an inspiration to him. Then on there was another elders in my family jo ke bahut renowned jurist the. To woh inspiration thi.
  14. During an internship in the courts he realised he might be a misfit for the profession. No, no, it was woh bada ek jo hamara career ka ek dilemma hai woh yeh hai ke jab main courts mein jana shuru hua apni internship ke dauran and all that, so I realized ke perhaps I am misfit for this profession.
  15. He continued in law in a back-office role rather than litigation, and also did some journalism. I continued with the law profession in a different capacity. Main litigation side pe nahi tha, main back end pe kaam kar raha tha. Lekin along with that, maine partially phir journalism bhi kiya.
  16. He began writing for a newly launched newspaper. us daur mein naya naya the news newspaper shuru hua tha, so I started writing for them.
  17. He did journalism and back-end law work at the same time for about three to five years. Phir kuch char ek saal, teen char saal ka time jo tha ya paanch saal ka time, woh main dono kaam kar raha tha.
  18. In the mid to late 1990s he was introduced to a free zone project of the Government of Sharjah. Main mid 90s mein aur thoda sa late 90s mein I was introduced to Government of Sharjah, un ka ek project tha Hamriyah Free Zone.
  19. His law office handled incorporation and due diligence for Pakistanis incorporating their businesses. Pakistan se jitne log apne aap ko incorporate karte the for their businesses, be it services or the product or production or whatever, un ki jo incorporation thi, un ki jo due diligence aur processing thi, that was done through my law office.
  20. He says around 2012 he turned his focus to introducing cyber laws in Pakistan. But I believe like 2012 was the time ke jab cheezein wahan pe kaafi ho gayi aur hamare liye hamein kuch naye avenues dekhne the to phir jo focus kiya woh yeh tha ke yahan pe I introduced cyber laws in Pakistan.
  21. He started teaching cyber laws at Quaid-e-Azam Law College in Lahore. Lahore mein Quaid-e-Azam Law College hai, this is where I started teaching cyber laws
  22. He says the college principal invited him to teach. jo college ke principal the Nafeer-e-Malik, he understood, he in fact this had a vision and he invited me.
  23. He and the principal began teaching students a diploma or short course in cyber law. So together we started teaching students a diploma, a short course ke ji please this is futuristic
  24. He says business, personal communication and relationships were moving online while there was no law. sab kuch to net pe aa raha tha, aap ka business, aap ki personal communication, aap ka even relationship jo hai us se related cheezein, but there was no law.
  25. He says cyber crime is currently the biggest crime. mera khayal hai ke is waqt jo sab se zyada jo crime hai woh cyber world mein hai.
  26. He says that after the law was passed, he had the first exclusive cyber law practice. jab qanoon bana to I had the first exclusive cyber law from Cyber Legal arm ke naam se
  27. He says that this cyber law arm is today an exclusive cyber law firm. Jo cyber legal arm hai, this is as of today it is exclusive cyber law firm.
  28. He says his group later added another law firm and a lobbying firm focused on America. Lekin at a later stage we started another law firm jis jis mein humne baaki discipline jo hai, wo bhi introduce karwaye aur phir humne ek lobbying firm bhi introduce karwayi Pakistan mein which is specific to America.
  29. He says about 20,000 applications were pending in Lahore, handled by six or seven investigators. Lahore ke andar pending application 20,000 aur jo log uski investigation karne wale hain, 6 ya 7 log.
  30. He says Pakistani judges are not trained for cyber cases and get only one or two days of training. hamara koi bhi judge jo hai wo iske liye trained nahi hai. Ek ek do do din ki training hai.
  31. He says many European countries review their cyber laws every six months. Europe mein beshumar mumalik mein they review their cyber laws every six months.
  32. He says Pakistan has never reviewed its cyber laws. Hamare yahan pe, hamare yahan pe kabhi review nahi hua.
  33. He says unauthorised access to someone's phone and altering or sending their data is a serious crime with two-year sentences. koi banda aapki marzi ke baghair aapke mobile ko access karta hai, aapka data change karta hai, alter karta hai, transmit karta hai. It's a serious crime. Do do saal sazayein hain bhai
  34. He says digital footprints never disappear and are the easiest evidence in digital crime. digital footprints kabhi evaporate nahi hote. They are there. Maine agar aapka data copy aur transmit kiya hai to uske digital footprints. It is the easiest way to collect an evidence when it comes to the digital crime and all that.
  35. He says about 32 countries can trace a cyber criminal and reach them within 48 hours. Do you know this thing ke in 32 32 ke qareeb countries jo hain, is mein jo crime karne wala hai, us mein pahunchne ka time 48 ghante hai.
  36. He says the FTO now decides complaints in 37 days on average. 37 din pe hum le aaye hain ke aap jab hamare paas complaint leke aate hain, 37 din ke andar hum aapko faisla de dete hain on average.
  37. He says the Federal Tax Ombudsman was established in 2000. 2000 mein ye idara bana tha
  38. He says the FTO had seven offices by 2022 and added seven more within a year, bringing the total to 14. 2000 mein ye idara bana tha aur 2022 tak pure Pakistan mein koi 7 offices the jo hamare current FTO hain, unhone 7 ki bajaye iske 14, 7 naye offices humne ek saal ke andar add kiye.
  39. He says that over 22 years the average time was never 37 days, having been more than 60 to 80 days, before it was brought to 37. kabhi 22 saal ke andar average time 37 din nahi tha hum 37 din pe le gaye 60 70 80 din ke upar se zyada tha
  40. He says complaints had never exceeded about 2,600 in a year before, and that in the last year and a half the number reached about 9,500. kabhi ek saal mein 25 2600 se upar complaints nahi hui humne is dedh saal mein agar mujhe karna pade to main taqreeban koi 9500 complaints jo hai us pe le gaya
  41. He says about 6,500 of roughly 7,000 complaints were decided in the past year, with about 75% of complainants given relief. Maslan main misaal deta hun aapko ke pichle saal mein koi 7,000 complaint mein se koi 6,500 ke humne faisle kiye jo ek saal ka hamara hota hai time period. Us mein koi 75% logon ko humne relief diya.
  42. He says the FBR was justified in about one in four complaints. Sirf 25% time tha, har 4 mein se ek complaint aisi thi jahan pe FBR apni jagah pe justified tha.
  43. He says one verdict gave relief to 10,000 people. We made 10,000 people get a relief out of just one verdict.
  44. He says individual decisions and initiatives of his office have each benefited lakhs of people. Can you imagine, lakho logon ko ek ek faisle se, ek hamare initiative se lakho logon ko faisla, fayda mila.
  45. He says his office does not itself interpret the law. Dekhein, qanoon ki interpretation jo hai uh wo basically hum nahi karte.
  46. He says a notice that gives no time to respond is mal-administration. Agar unhone aapko notice bheja aur usmein aapko apna mauqaf dene ka time nahi diya, aaj notice aaya, kal kaha ke subah aa jao, this is mal-administration.
  47. He says people must go to the first forum first. Uh uh again, primarily first forum, you have to go there.
  48. He says his jurisdiction begins when the first forum does not give relief and the person there harasses, bullies or asks for money in the process. Jab aapko wahan se relief nahi mila aur usne aapko relief nahi diya aur us relief ke process mein usne aapko tang kiya, harass kiya, bully kiya, paise maange, whatever it is, then that is my jurisdiction.
  49. He says that if a claim is not paid within the 60 days it is supposed to take, the 61st day belongs to him and is the other side's mal-administration. wo jab aap claim karte hain within 60 days that is supposed to be. 60 din mein agar nahi deta to 61st day belongs to me. That is his mal-administration.
  50. He says High Courts have begun referring cases of mal-administration to his office. ab mashallah jo high courts hain woh humein cases refer kar rahe hain mal administration ke which is a huge success
  51. He says his office caught a scam in the steel mill sector involving billions of rupees. humne ek scam pakda hai jisme arbon rupaye arbon rupaye sirf 22 humne jo is waqt steel mills hain uska yeh scam hai 22 aur is waqt hazaron steel mills hain 22 ke andar paanch che arbon rupaye ka fraud jo hai woh ho chuka hai
  52. He says the only appeal against a decision of his office goes to the President of Pakistan. mere faisle ke khilaf sirf appeal president of Pakistan ke paas hai
  53. He says his office has contempt and defiance powers equal to those of a Supreme Court judge. mere paas contempt mein aur defiance mein supreme court ke judge ke ikhtiyarat hain
  54. He says a deterrence has been created within the FBR, whose officers now fear it though they did not before. there is a deterrence that we have created within FBR FBR ka officer ab darta hai pehle nahi darta tha
  55. He says his office made new regulations for the first time in 22 years and built up the capacity of its staff. humne pehli martaba 22 saal mein regulation naye banaye qawaneen banaye humne apne staff ki capacity building ki
  56. He says he introduced internships for young people at his office for the first time. kabhi hamare yahan pe capacity building first time hamare yahan pe maine bachon ko internship introduce karwayi
  57. He says digital technology was introduced so that people can sit with them on Zoom or go to regional offices. digital technology introduce karwayi ke aap aap zoom pe hamare saath baithe hamare regional offices mein chale jayein
  58. He says his advisers have about 30 years of experience each. Mere jo jitne advisors hain, jinka 30 30 saal ka tajurba hai
  59. He says he has about 32 years of experience. mera bhi 32 saal ka tajurba hai
  60. He says he said he would come only if given a free hand to turn the institution into a model institution under the other person's leadership. Maine kaha ji main with one condition mein aaunga ke aap mujhe free hand denge ke hum is institution ko under your leadership ek model institution mein convert karein.
  61. He says he had a very detailed conversation with the Tax Ombudsman. I was very fortunate ke hamare jo Tax Ombudsman hain Dr. Asif Mahmood Jah, meri unse badi detail mein baat hui.
  62. He says that when the offer came he felt the challenges could be resolved from the other side of the table. mujhe jab ye offer hua to mujhe ye laga ke jo hamare yahan pe challenges hain, un challenges ko on the other side of the table jahan pe resolve kiya ja sakta hai
  63. He says he never wanted to work in government service. Main I never wanted to be in government service
  64. He says justice is very expensive to obtain and, when obtained, is not implemented. Aapko insaaf bahut mehenga milta hai aur jab kabhi milta hai, uski implementation nahi hoti.
  65. He says he has seen that systems are driven by individuals rather than as institutions. humne yeh dekha hai ke systems are driven by individuals not by not as an institution right
  66. He says the next five to seven years are very important. agle paanch saat saal bahut important hai aur woh kyun hai
  67. He says his country is the fifth or sixth largest English-speaking country in the world. mera mulk duniya ka paanchva chatha English speaking country hai
  68. He says empowering 150,000 to 200,000 people with technology is better than building a factory. ek factory lagane se behtar hai ke aap dedh do lakh bande ko empower karo with the technology and technology is the only way forward
  69. He says Burewala has about 2,000 young people who are drop-shipping experts. Burewala ke andar 2000 bacha hai jo drop shipping ka expert hai