LAHORE: Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) President Ijaz A Mumtaz has asked Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Tariq Bajwa to take notice of non-acceptance of refund applications from five sectors covered under SRO 1125 by Regional Tax Offices Lahore.
The LCCI president said that all other RTOs in the country had been processing refund applications under Rule 33 of the Sales Tax Refund.
He said that despite clear instructions of Finance Minister Ishaq Dar to release sales tax and income tax refunds at the earliest, the officials concerned are creating hurdles for the businessmen by not accepting their claims.
The LCCI chief said that the delay in release of huge funds that runs into billions has triggered serious liquidity crunch for the exporters and manufacturers that might lead to closure of several industrial units. He said the FBR chairman should take realistic view of the matter and direct RTO Lahore to ensure early refunds of sales tax and income tax of the five sectors covered by SRO 1125.
The LCCI chief said that the process to get refunds is so lengthy that sometimes takes months for a manufacturer to get his own money refunded.
