Pakistan exporters vexed over non release of customs rebate, ST refunds

The Pakistani value added textile exporters vexed over the non-release of their customs rebate and sales tax refunds that came to huge amount scaling down the textile manufacturing and pushing the exporters to financial crisis. The Pakistan Apparel Forum Chairman, Muhammad Jawed Bilwani called the backlog of the refunds a ‘dilemma’, saying that the textile manufacturing was at stake for liquidity shortfall.

The Federal Board of Revenue, customs rebate claims of the exporters since last almost one and half year and sales tax refund claims since one year are indefinitely held up. He said that the FBR was indifferent to the exporters’ grim financial conditions and was unwilling to share Analysis Sheet of the deferred refund claims with textile sector just to let them know the reason behind the backlog.

He further added that the exporters’ sales tax refund claims are deferred and the FBR does not even care to provide the Analysis Sheet of such deferred claims to the exporters for them to know the reason of deferred claims.

He stated that Computerized Refund System for clearing refund claims was made out of order to delay payments as the same system worked properly to collect the tax.

The continuing delays from FBR may ruin the country’s exports.