RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: The Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front (PIAF) have urged the government to ensure early payment of stuck-up refund claims of the export-oriented sector worth Rs250 billion which had already been promised many times by the concerned government officials.

PIAF Chairman Irfan Iqbal Sheikh in a statement on Tuesday said that customs rebate claims of approximately Rs50 billion are also pending with the Federal Board of Revenue whereas sales tax refund claims including deferred claims stands at about Rs200 billion. The business community is bearing huge financial costs on their own hard earned stuck-up money; therefore, the FBR chairman should look into the matter and ensure early release of sales tax and income tax refunds, he added.

The PIAF appreciates for paying sales tax refunds of Rs26 billion ROPs (refund orders of payment) till April 2017 through the electronic system; and clearing sales tax refunds of over Rs15 billion of ROPs issued up to August 2017. He revealed that after the payment of limited amount in 2017 now pending amount includes Rs40 billion sales tax refund claims, Rs10 billion customs duty rebate and Rs5 billion Duty Drawback of Local Taxes (DLTL) and Rs20 billion is yet to be paid to the exporters under the Prime Minister’s incentive package for exporters. These are verified refund claims, but if the deferred claims are included in the pending amount, total figure of pending refund claims would be around Rs150 billion.

He further said that the government has so far released Rs16.5 billion out of the Rs46 billion PM export incentive package announced in October.

The association’s members have now started feeling the pinch as they were already facing troubles and experiencing toughest times because of multiple internal and external challenges, he said.

He urged Minister of State for Finance Rana Muhammad Afzal Khan to take notice of the situation and issue directions to the FBR authorities to expedite stuck-up sales tax and income tax refund claims as promised. He said the authorities concerned should take realistic view of the matter and allow the refunds of sales tax and income tax to exporters and manufacturers at the earliest, who were facing severe hardships.