KARACHI: Stakeholders in the export-oriented industrial sector have demanded that the government should expedite payment of stuck-up refund claims worth Rs 250 billion.
The executives of industrial organisations have lamented that officials concerned were not paying attention to the issue.
The amount that has yet t be cleared includes Rs40 billion in sales tax refund claims, Rs10 billion customs duty rebate and Rs5 billion in duty drawback of local taxes (DLTL) and Rs20 billion to be paid to exporters under Prime Minister’s incentive package for exporters.
They said that prime export industry has been bearing great financial burden due to stuck-up money, therefore, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) should look into the matter and ensure early release of sales and income tax refunds.
“Deferred claims are included in pending amount and total figure of pending refund claims is around Rs 150 billion. The government has so far released Rs 16.5 billion out of Rs 46 billion PM export incentive package announced in October.”
In addition, sales tax refunds of Rs26 billion of ROPs up to April 2017 through electronic system and clearing sales tax refunds of over Rs15 billion of ROPs issued up to August 2017.
They urged the Ministry of Finance and the FBR to take cognisance of the situation and expedite payment of refund claims.
Agha Saiddain, representing the tanning sector; Ghulam Rabbani, the yarn and cotton sector; Jawed Bilwani, the apparel; Irfan Iqbal Sheikh of the Pakistan Industrial and Traders Associations Front; and others, commenting on the health of the country’s economy, said that Pakistan had almost always been affected by inflation as a result of rising costs in all spheres of life.
