SIALKOT: Federal Tax Ombudsman Abdul Rauf Chaudhary has stressed the need for further improvement in tax payment and tax collection systems by providing maximum relief to the taxpayers and the exporters.
He stated this while addressing an important meeting of the Sialkot exporters held at Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) here. Chaudhry said that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) should remove hurdles in the way of exports by reducing the pendency of the customs, income tax and sales tax refunds claims.
Acting SCCI President Adnan Sethi presided over the meeting while FTO’s senior advisors Abdul Khaliq, Muhammad Sadique, Muneer Qureshi, Umer Farooq, central chairman of the Pakistan Ready-made Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) Ejaz A. Khokhar, Collector Customs Sialkot Ahmed Raza, Additional Collector Faiz Ali, President of the Sialkot Tax Bar Association (TBA) Shakeel Ahmed Khan and senior customs officials were also present on this occasion.
Federal Tax Ombudsman Abdul Rauf Chaudhary added that the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has recently released special funds of Rs. 25 billion to Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) due to which the FBR should ensure the early payment of the duty drawback, income tax and sales tax refunds claims for ensuring the smooth flow of cash in the industry, saying that the FBR should ensue the maximum facilities to the tax payers , besides, averting to put additional financial load on the shoulders of the exporters in shape of levy of the additional taxes as well. He added that the FBR should also remove all the seen and unseen hurdles from the way of promotion of national exports.
FTO Abdul Rauf Chaudhary stated that all out sincere efforts were also being made to ensure the early implementation of the decisions made by the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO), saying that FTO effectively had been playing a pivotal role in resolving the exporters’ tax-related issues amicably .
He added that the FTO was receiving as many as 1500 complaints annually besides making hectic efforts to ensure the decisions on these complaints with in a stipulated period of 60 days. FTO assured the Sialkot exporters that their tax related problems would be solved on priority.
He announced that a regional office of Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) would soon be established at Sialkot for providing early relief to the local exporters/ complainants at local level within a stipulated period of 60 days.
FTO Abdul Rauf Chaudhary told the meeting that there was record 60 percent decline in smuggling between Pakistan and Afghanistan due to the effective measure taken by FTO Pakistan, which was a great success indeed.
Addressing the meeting, Chairman Sialkot International Airport Limited (SIAL) Malik Muhammad Ashraf told the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) that the Air Freight Unit (AFU) established at Sialkot International Airport in 2010 (six years ago) had been lying nonoperational there for the last six years due to the non-availability of the officials for it by the customs officials as well. He demanded the early formal functioning of this AFU in the larger national interest as well.
Earlier, while presenting his address of welcome, acting SCCI President Adnan Sethi said that the Sialkot exporters were much perturbed as their duty drawback, sales tax, income tax refund claims (amounting Rs.2.5 billion) had been lying pending for the last several years. He said that the inordinate delay in the payment of these refund claims was causing financial crisis for the Sialkot exporters, besides, creating hurdles in the smooth flow of cash in the Sialkot’s export industries as well.
Acting SCCI President also demanded the early exemption of the Sialkot’s export industries from withholding tax recently levied by the Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA).
He said that the Sialkot exporters were the “roaming ambassadors” which had been playing their vital role in strengthening the national economy by earning the foreign exchange to the tune of US$ 2 billion annually.
