PHMA takes up refund issue with collectorate

Deferred and refund cases termed core issues pending with the Sales Tax House, which lead to closure of mass scale business of hosiery manufacturers. This was discussed at a meeting between Ghulam Ahmed of the Collectorate of Sales Tax (Enforcement) Karachi and members of the Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association (PHMA), here at the PHMA House on Monday.
The collectorate assured the PHMA members that all refund claims would be resolved by next month. He stressed that the cases of refund claims and deferred would be on the tax department's priority.
He realised that the hosiery and knitwear industry badly hit by the tax levy in the past and the government was unable to pay the industrialists their due rights. He said that both sides must create a level playing field. He said that the government was committed to lessen the burden of the industrialists particularly the textile sector.
Later, he heard several hosiery manufacturers and exporters complaints regarding refund claims. Majority of complains registered were about refund claims that were stuck since 1998.
System of e-filing was also criticised by the many PHMA members. They said that the electronic registration was not helpful for them as the CBR claimed. The collectorate assured the members that the e-filing has some problems in its database and it would be addressed soon. Earlier, Chairman PHMA Jawaid Bilwani informed the collectorate (enforcement) about the problems which the hosiery manufacturers were facing.
He said that the knitwear and hosiery industry was undergoing severe stress due to competition from neighbouring countries and lack of a level playing field. He said that sales tax refund claims for the last one-year made it impossible for the manufacturers to run their factories and continue exports. Many export-oriented units have closed down due to inefficiency of the tax department, he added.
He continued his argument that neither the trade policy nor the textile package had provided any substantial relief to the exporters.
He mentioned that if bold and pragmatic steps were not taken to save the knitwear and hosiery industry, it would lead to closure of many units, which would result in mass unemployment. He requested the tax officials to review the matter and solve all the pending sales tax refund cases speedily.