MoF, FBR agree to clear Rs36bn deferred GST refunds
SOHAIL SARFRAZ & ZAHEER ABBASI
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Finance and the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) have agreed to clear Rs36 billion deferred sales tax refunds of the textile sector in 32,000 cases pending since 2019.
The decision to this effect was taken during a meeting of Finance Minister Miftah Ismail with a delegation of the All Pakistan Textile Exporters Association (PTEA) on Monday.
The issue of deferred sales tax refund payment was discussed during the meeting of textile exporters with the FBR and the finance minister besides issues in the opening of letter of credit, said an official of the Finance Ministry.
The FBR will address the issue of objections raised by the “FASTER” refund payment system to clear pending sales tax refunds. In this regard, the FBR will devise a mechanism for speedy clearance of pending sales tax refunds of Rs36 billion without further delay.
The government will discuss the issue of import of cotton from India with the stakeholders before taking any final decision.
Finance Minister Ismail has directed to resolve the refund issue of textile exporters and directed the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to solve their problem with regard to the opening of letter of credit.
A delegation of PTEA led by its Patron-in-Chief Khurram Mukhtar met the finance minister. Minister of State for Finance and Revenue Dr Aisha Ghous Pasha, Minister of State for Petroleum Musadik Masood Malik, Muhammad Asim Nazir MNA, Governor SBP, Chairman FBR, Coordinator to Prime Minister on Economy Bilal Azhar Kiyani, Chairman PTEA Sohail Pasha, Secretary General PTEA Azizullah Goheer, and other senior officers from the Finance Division also attended the meeting.
The meeting apprised the finance minister about the contribution of the textile sector export to the overall sustainable economic growth of the country. They also discussed about the various issues being faced by exporters especially related to exports and tax refunds.
The finance minister also assured the delegation that the government wants to enhance the overall exports of the country and every possible support will be provided in this regard. The finance minister directed the relevant authorities to take the desired steps for resolving these issues.
