Green Leaf Threshing units: Inland Revenue officers ordered to carry out mandatory monitoring

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Wednesday directed Inland Revenue officers to carry out mandatory monitoring of Green Leaf Threshing (GLT) units, whether working separately or as part of a cigarette manufacturing unit. The FBR has issued SRO 1149(I)/2018 here on Wednesday to amend Federal Excise Rules, 2005 as part of the measures for strict monitoring of GLT units.
According to the notification, the commissioner having jurisdiction shall post officers of Inland Revenue at the premises of GLT Units, whether working separately or as part of a cigarette manufacturing unit, for monitoring the receipts, processing, wastage, storage, issue of un-manufactured tobacco for sale, transfer or self consumption. They shall also stamp and sign the tax invoice issued by the GLT units.
It shall be the responsibility of GLT units to provide the officers, so posted, with in-house accommodation and office space to enable them to perform their duties in an efficient manner. The officers posted at the GLT units shall be responsible for framing a daily report of receipts, processing, wastage and issuance of tobacco and duty leviable thereon to the concerned commissioner for reconciliation with monthly returns.
The FBR said that at the time of sale of processed un-manufactured tobacco to a cigarette manufacturing unit or any other person, in case of an independent Green Leaf Threshing (GLT) unit, or transfer thereof for in-house manufacturing of cigarettes by a composite GLT unit, a tax invoice, as set out in Annexure-I, shall be issued. In case of export of processed un-manufactured tobacco by GLT units, such manufacturer or person shall be entitled to zero rating in terms of section 5 of the Act and shall issue zero rated invoice.
In case of contract processing or toll manufacturing by GLT units, the duty shall be charged at the rate as specified at serial 7 of the First Schedule to the Act and the same shall be shown on the tax invoice along with processing charges.
The FBR has also imposed a bar on sale to inactive persons. A GLT unit shall not sell un-manufactured tobacco to any person who is not on Active Taxpayers' List maintained under the Act.
For cigarette manufacturing factories operating their own GLT, the FBR said that the cigarette manufacturing factories operating their own GLT units shall be required to issue invoices and pay duty as stipulated in Rule 82 and shall maintain separate invoice book, register of receipts, issue and balances as prescribed in Annex-II.
Federal excise invoice to accompany vehicles: All vehicles transporting un-manufactured tobacco shall be liable to carry a copy of federal excise invoice as evidence of chargeability of federal excise. The documents and requirements prescribed in the federal excise Notification No. SRO 217(1) 2010, dated the March 31, 2010 shall also be applicable, mutatis mutandis, to unmanufactured tobacco, along with additional requirement, as specified in sub-rules (2) and (3). The additional requirements shall also be applicable to cigarettes.
The tax invoice of un-manufactured tobacco, stock transport advice-cigarettes, sales-cum-transport invoice shall be generated through FBR's e-portal.
The invoices and advices as prescribed shall bear unique and distinguishable serial numbers. Provided that till such time, the FBR's e-portal is not developed for the transactions stipulated herein, or in the event of a natural disaster, national calamity or a government ordered network and data services shutdown, which result in severed internet connectivity, the manually prepared invoices or advices, duly authenticated by the officers posted, may be used and the same should be uploaded when the connection is restored, the FBR added.