APTPMA chief voices concern over stuck up ST refunds

A huge amount of sales tax refunds of textile industry have been stuck due to complicated refund system, the Chairman All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association (APTPMA), Muhammad Pervez Lala said.

Elaborating, he said that textile industry had accepted the sales tax refund bonds' option to support the government in tough monetary condition. Now it was good news for our member units that ECC of the cabinet has recently approved supplementary grant of Rs. 30 billions for redemption of sales tax bonds and clearance of sales tax refunds of exporters by the FBR.

But, it seems that early payments of refunds to our member units are still in doldrums due to non-availability of required mechanism or procedure in FBR, as informed. The association has been informed by the FBR that no procedure or mechanism of payments of sales tax refunds bonds is available with the FBR so far.

He emphasized that undue delay by FBR in early payments of sales tax refunds to the textile exporters announced by the PM and approved by the ECC tantamount to negate the government initiatives for boosting our exports and business activities.

The textile processing industry is one of the most value-added, export-oriented, and revenue-generating sectors of textile industry. But, unfortunately besides other various obstacles faced by the industry and due to delay in payments of sales tax refunds, the industry is facing serious liquidity problems.

Hence, it is necessary to remove all problems faced by the industry and makes all necessary arrangements on most urgent and priority basis for early payments and encashment of sales tax refunds bonds to save the textile industry from financial crisis.

Concluding, Chairman APTPMA demanded of the Advisor to PM on Finance and Revenue, Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh and Chairman FBR Syed Muhammad Shabbar Zaidi to take necessary steps for early payments of sales tax refund bonds to our member units to save textile processing industry from liquidity crunch and enabling us to keep the industry wheel running, save laborers from joblessness and starvation and to increase our productivity and export performance.