Cigarette manufacturers directed to maintain tax records for six years

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has directed cigarette manufacturers to maintain tax records for a period of six years including records of clearances and sales of tobacco products made by such companies.

According to the brochure on tobacco sector issued by the FBR here on Monday, under section 17 of the Federal Excise Act, 2005, every person registered shall maintain and keep for a period of six years or till such further period the

final decision in any proceedings including proceedings for assessment, appeal, revision, reference, petition and any, proceedings before an Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee is finalized at his business premises or registered office in English or Urdu language the records of excisable goods purchased, manufactured and cleared (including those cleared without payment of excise duty) by him or by his agent acting on his behalf in such form and manner as would permit ready ascertainment of his liability of duty.

The records required to be maintained by cigarette manufacturers included records of clearances and sales made indicating the description, quantity and value of goods, name and address of the person to whom sales were made and the amount of the duty charged; records of goods purchased showing the description, quantity and value of goods, name, address and registration number of the supplier and the amount of the duty, if any, on purchases and records of goods cleared and sold without payment of duty.

Other records included records of invoices, bills, accounts, agreements, contracts, orders and other allied business matters; record relating to gate passes, inward or outward, and transport receipts; records of production, stocks and inventory; records of imports and exports and such other records as may be specified by the Board.

The FBR may specify or prescribe to keep any other records for the purposes of Excise Act; use such electronic fiscal cash registers as may be approved by the Board, and the procedure or software for electronic maintenance of records and filing of statements, documents or information by any person or class of persons.

The FBR has also clarified the companies that a person registered under the Federal Excise Act, 2005 shall issue for each transaction a serially numbered invoice at the time of clearance or sale of goods, including goods chargeable to duty at the rate of zero per cent, or providing or rendering services containing the specified particulars, FBR said.

Where a registered person is also engaged in making supplies taxable under the Sales Tax Act, 1990, such person shall not be required to issue a separate invoice for excise purposes and the amount of excise duty and other related information may in such cases be mentioned on the invoice issued for sales tax purposes, FBR added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020