Date extended for claiming sales tax refund by exporters

On the directive of the Prime Minister, the government has extended the cut-off date to December 31, 2005 for claiming refund of sales tax paid on stocks acquired up to June 5, 2005 for export of textile items, leather goods, carpets, surgical goods and sports items.
Previously, the exporters of these goods were allowed to claim refunds on exports up to September 30, 2005. The CBR on Tuesday issued 'Refund of Sales Tax (On Export Of Specified Goods) Rules', 2006 for the processing the refund claims. Reputed chartered accountants firms will carry out the audit of the refund claims to determine their admissibility.
The CBR has established two 'Centralised Refund Processing Cells', located at Karachi and Lahore, to process the claims. Under the procedure, each centralized refund cell shall consist of an Additional Collector and other officers as nominated by the concerned collector. The audit firm shall verify sales tax claims under section 73 and fulfillment of other conditions laid down in Chapter V of Sales Tax Rules, 2005. The audit will be conducted where the claimant is registered. The findings of audit shall be communicated to the officer in charge of centralised refund unit within 30 days of commencement of audit.
According to the procedure, the refund claims of exporters who fail to produce the record for audit shall be rejected after issuance of show-cause notice by the concerned official. The refund sanctioning officers shall decide the refund claims within one week after audit and verification by the designated chartered accountant firm.