KARACHI: All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) on Thursday demanded the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to release all Refund Payment Orders (RPOs) before issuance of proposed promissory notes.
APTMA Chairman Sindh-Baluchistan Region Zahid Mazhar in a statement welcomed announcement of issuance of promissory notes to clear huge amount of long outstanding sales tax refund by the finance minister.
He said that billions of rupees in Sales Tax, Customs Rebate and Income Tax Refund Claims in addition to Duty Drawback of Taxes Order under Prime Minister’s Export Package and Duty Local Taxes and Levies Schemes are stuck up with the government causing great sufferings to the largest foreign exchange earning sector through exports.
APTMA chairman said that the tax refunds of the textile exporters have been stuck for a long time for more than a year in most cases and now the government has announced issuance of promissory notes to liquidate these refunds which is a right step in the right direction.
Mazhar said that sales tax refunds of over Rs125 billion belonging to the textile sector are pending with the government, he hopes that if the stuck up refunds as announced by the finance minister to clear sales tax refund through promissory notes be disbursed by the government in one go the exports of the country would not only increase tremendously but would also boost the business of the allied industries.
He urged the FBR for issuing instructions to all Chief Commissioners of LTUs and RTOs to urgently issue Refund Payment Orders (RPOs) of admissible sales tax refund claims before issuance of the first batch or Promissory Notes (Refund Bonds) by February 14, 2019.
He pointed out that despite of the directives of the Finance Minister and the FBR there is very slow progress in processing the sales tax refunds and issuance of RPOs which in most of the cases are pending for more than a year.
Mazhar urged the Prime Minister Imran Khan, Finance Minister Asad Umar and the Chairman FBR to give urgent and special attention on the issuance of RPOs to clear the pending sales tax refunds.
