ایف بی آر کی پریس ریلیز

FBR denies holding up duty drawbacks sales tax refunds

Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has refuted a news item appearing in a section of the press claiming the board has held up duty drawback and sales tax refunds payable to the exporters.

In an official statement issued on Wednesday, FBR has clarified that the contents of the news item are not based on facts and there is no truth in the suspension as reported by the press, of the processing or payment of admissible drawback and refund claims.

The statement adds that in the first five months of the current financial year, an amount of Rs 15.45 billion has already been paid to the exporters as duty drawback and sales tax refunds, as against Rs 14.36 billion during the corresponding period of the previous year. Similarly, inputs used in five major export oriented sectors have already been zero rated for sales tax purpose. Sales Tax refunds relating to exporters of these sectors have also declined accordingly.

The statement also adds that FBR's measure of universal e-filing of sales tax returns will lead to further acceleration of processing of refund claims. Furthermore, the board is already in the process of devising automated system for expeditious disposal of refund claims pertaining to packing material used in exports by zero rated sectors. For boosting exports, FBR has often directed its field formations to extend maximum facilitation to exporters, including a quick and expeditious processing and payment of pending duty drawback and refund claims.