LAHORE : All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) appreciated Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Dr Asif Mahmood Jah for providing prompt relief to export oriented sectors against the inordinate delay caused by Export Oriented Sector Registration Cell (ESRC) of the Federal board of Revenue (FBR) in processing cases of export units for electricity and gas tariff.
Chairman APTMA (NZ) Hamid Zaman said in a media statement here that processing of energy tariff cases was being delayed on lame excuses, forcing the exporters to pay excessive tariff on electricity and gas. Consequently, they were being saddled with extra financial burden reducing their competitiveness in the global market against their local and regional competitors.
Zaman said that textile mills had apprised FTO that a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) directions of Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), was issued through FBR Circular No 04 of 2020 prescribing procedure for enrollment of registered people to qualify for special energy tariff. Unfortunately, the legally laid down SOP was being violated by adopting delaying tactics causing immense loss to applicants, he added.
He said the matter was immediately taken up by the FTO who vide his decision in complaint No 1974/ISD/ST2022 held that the delay caused by FBR tantamount to maladministration and directed FBR to process all cases for concessionary energy tariff on fast track day-to-day basis without any delay or deviation from the prescribed procedure.
APTMA had lauded FTO for cost free redressal of the genuine problem of export industry without any lapse of time. Such decisions go a long way to help the export sector to focus on exports instead of wasting their valuable time in trivial procedural and bureaucratic formalities, he added.
APTMA has expressed the hope that FBR would implement FTO directions in letter and spirit to ensure that all cases, received from trade bodies for energy tariff are processed on priority to avoid irretrievable financial loss to the exporters.
Hamid Zaman has also welcomed directions of FTO for periodical consultative sessions and meeting between FBR and export sectors for expeditious processing of cases on merits in future.
He has requested FTO to continue its resolve for eliminating all irritants in the smooth flow of business to enable the exporters and taxpayers to work incessantly for uplift of economy, upsurge of exports, initiating new investments and creating additional jobs for the unemployed youth.
