ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has paid sales tax refunds worth Rs11 billion through its newly introduced online system since July 01, 2019.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the FBR said that it had issued refunds through Fully Automated Sales Tax e-Refund (FASTER) system without human intervention worth Rs11 billion against claims of Rs15 billion.
While clarifying a news report, the FBR said that the issue of liquidity problems due to imposition of Sales Tax on previously zero rated sectors was raised in the standing committee.
The FBR acknowledged the issue and explained that in first 6 months, a total of Rs98 billion refunds have been issued as opposed to Rs31 billion in last year.
Most of these refunds have been given to exporters including encashment of refund bonds issued last year.
It was also emphasized that if the government on one hand has brought the export oriented sector under VAT regime, it has heavily facilitated the sectors by providing sizable subsidy on gas and electricity despite a very narrow fiscal space available to it.
So the perception conveyed by the news item is a bit misleading and the Federal Government and FBR are trying to provide maximum facilitation to businesses in a collaborative and consultative process.
