KARACHI: Federal Board of Revenue is going to look into all the exemption certificates issued to importers and manufacturers as around Rs60 billion have been granted under a concessionary regime for the first six months of the fiscal year 2013-14, an FBR official said.
The official said that goods imported from July to October attracted around Rs100 billion in income tax at the import stage while only Rs40 billion was received. A major part of the amount was drained in exemptions and concessions.
About Rs35 billion exemptions were allowed on crude oil imports. Another Rs25 billion have been granted through certificates issued by the commissioners of Inland Revenue or are available under the second schedule of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.
The officials said that FBR is considering to revisit all the exemption certificates issued by the Inland Revenue offices and find out that exemptions granted through certificates were as per the law. They said that the FBR will also analyse whether or not the import by commercial importers was taxed at 5.5 percent.
Previously, the certificates were issued for three months but through a circular issued in November, the validity had been extended to six months.
The officials said that the revenue body is also in the process of eliminating the exemptions and concessions allowed in the income tax, sales tax and customs duty to streamline revenue collection, which is much lower against the expenditures of the country.
