FBR ordered to pay refund claims of exporters in 72 hours

ISLAMABAD: In a major relief for exporters, the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has ordered the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to pay refund claims of exporters in three days, a local daily newspaper reported.

Exporters have been unable to fulfill their export commitments due to extreme liquidity crunch coupled with cash flow problems as FBR failed to clear the pending refund claims to the tune of billions of rupees.

Resultantly, the textile sector industries including the Pakistan Apparel Forum held a meeting at the FTO Regional Office in Karachi and apprised the FTO about various problems faced by them. Taking notice of the complaints, the FTO ordered FBR to pay refund in 72 hours of submission of claim. The bureau informed the FTO that the faster system is fully automated.

The exporters claim that stuck refund claims (sales tax, income tax, duty drawback and textile policy incentives)  were adversely affecting the production, employment and exports.

Exporters have demanded the federal government to honor the commitment and ensure swift payments to exporters against their refunds, within 72 hours after submission of sales tax refund claims.