FBR forwards recommendation to Finance Ministry for clearance of tax refunds

ISLAMABAD: The tax regulator has forwarded a recommendation to the Ministry of Finance for the issuance of bonds worth Rs80 billion to clear the pending tax refunds backlog to exporters.

According to a report in an English daily, one of the recommendations being mulled for the clearance of outstanding tax refunds is the issuance of bonds in a segmented manner.

As per sources, several proposals are being mulled for clearance of outstanding tax refunds and deliberations are taking place with the Ministry of Finance and State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to finalize the suggestion of launching bond in this regard.

However, the government hasn’t yet resolved the procedural needs and details of the processes in this regard.

And one of the suggestions under consideration is to launch a three-year negotiable security bond worth over Rs80 billion in different phases via the central bank, added the sources.

Moreover, another suggestion being mulled is to let the central bank pay the sales tax refund claims and customs duty drawbacks via authorized dealers immediately upon the realization of export proceeds.