MULTAN: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has agreed to address all key issues of exporters before issuance of a ‘unified export promotion scheme’ in the next budget (2021-22).
Sources told Customs Today that the assurance has been given by top FBR officials during a meeting with the exporters’ delegation from Faisalabad region. The meeting was held at the FBR Headquarters.
Exporters raised legal and technical issues in the draft scheme and requested to amend the draft. “Every scheme has its own procedure and clubbing all schemes into a single export scheme would have legal complications”, exporters informed FBR Member Customs (Policy). The FBR Members and other customs officials conveyed to the exporters that their concerns would be dully addressed. Finance Bill 2021 would notify the new scheme for exporters taking into account the observations of the exporter’s associations, sources said.
The FBR has decided to club all export promotion schemes including manufacturing bonds scheme, Duties and Tax Remission for Export (DTRE) scheme, and Temporary Importation Scheme into a unified scheme from next fiscal year. According to the FBR, the board has undertaken the exercise for simplification of export promotion schemes by developing a unified scheme instead of manufacturing bonds scheme, the DTRE schemes under SRO 459(1)/2001, SRO 326(1) /2008, and 327(1)/2008, and temporary importation under SRO 492(1)/2009.
A draft text of the proposed scheme is being prepared for comments and observations on the scheme by May 2021.The scope of the new scheme revealed that the facility to import goods without payment of customs duties, sales tax, federal excise duty and withholding tax shall be available to persons registered under the Sales Tax Act, 1990, as manufacturer-cum-exporter (Direct Exporters); manufacturers who act or intend to act as contracted vendors of foreign principal as toll manufacturers; commercial exporters engaged in the purchase and export of goods in the same state either after packing or otherwise; persons registered under the Sales Tax Act, 1990, as manufacturer and operating as indirect exporters or vendors for direct exporters; manufacturers including manufacturers of engineering goods who intend to supply against international tenders.
Provided this scheme shall be allowed for the export of goods authorized under the export policy order, in case of export of goods restricted or prohibited under the export policy order specific permission from the Ministry of Commerce shall be required, the FBR added.
