SIALKOT: Federal Tax Ombudsman Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera has stressed the need of further betterment in tax payment and tax collection systems for providing maximum relief to the tax payers and the exporters.
He said that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) should remove hurdles from the smooth way of promotion of national exports by reducing the prolonged pendency of the customs, income tax and sales tax refunds claims, in this regard.
He stated this while addressing an important meeting of the Sialkot exporters held at Sialkot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) here. FTO’s senior advisors, the officials of SCCI and Sialkot Tax Bar Association (TBA) also attended the meeting.
Federal Tax Ombudsman Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera added that 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 Sialkot industry, saying that the FBR should ensure the maximum facilities to the taxpayers, 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 hurdles from the way of promotion of national exports.
FTO Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera 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 had been playing a pivotal role effectively in resolving the exporters’ tax-related issues amicably . FTO assured the Sialkot exporters that their tax related problems would be solved on priority.
Earlier, the Sialkot exporters told the meeting that the Sialkot exporters were much perturbed as their duty drawback, sales tax, income tax refund claims (amounting Rs. 6.5 billion) had been lying pending for the last several years.
They 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.
The SCCI officials 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.
