ISLAMABAD
Acting President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) Irfan Ahmed Sarwana denounced decline in exports from $ 25 billion in 2014 to less than $ 20 billion in 2017 and attributed it to the high cost of production of indigenous goods due to a variety of reasons.
This he stated in his welcome address to Inland Revenue Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) Karachi Chief Commissioner Seema Shakeel during her visit to FPCCI.
Sarwana lamented, “Despite finance minister’s assurance, the refund claims whose RPOs have been issued before April 2017 are not paid as yet.”
The acting chief of FPCCI said that when nil sales tax return filers such as exporters, sole distributors etc., claim their refunds, they as a penalty are mainly served with the audit notices to discourage them. He proposed to dispose-off the audit within a stipulated time frame as over 200,000 of audit cases were lying pending for settlement.
Former Chief Executive (TDAP) S.M. Muneer and former president FPCCI said that FBR only knows to collect taxes but does not facilitate the taxpayers.
He said that due to the high cost of doing business in Pakistan, the industrial sector which provides employment opportunities is gradually depleting which would be resulted in severe law and order situation, inflation etc.
He urged the chief commissioner LTU to issue exemption certificates within the same day.
Seema Shakeel, in her address, advised that the taxpayers should resolve their issue directly with tax authorities instead of going for unnecessary litigation as tax officials are available to guide taxpayers in resolving their issues.
In response to Shakeel Dhingra’s proposal, she said that the facility of alternate dispute resolution is functional and is providing settlement of their disputes, free of cost, to the taxpayers in a short span of time.
She elaborated that LTU Karachi which is the main revenue arm of FBR has rupees 52 billion stuck up in court cases. She said that the refunds issuance procedure has been improved in the past few years as evident from the fact that FBR has released a sufficient amount of refunds during the first two months of the current fiscal year.
Regarding consulting the concerned trade body before the raid on the business premises she said, “It is difficult to inform the trade body of raids due to confidentiality of the matter.”
