Malfunctioning of the central electronic refund processing system, ''Stream'' in Lahore is causing delay in payment of sales tax refund worth millions of rupees.
This was stated by Sales Tax Collector Ghulam Ahmed at a meeting with Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (Prgmea) here on Monday. The central chairman of Prgmea, Bilal Mulla, who led the delegation, urged the collector to arrange payment of refund before Eid-ul-Fitr to help exporters pay wages and bonus to their workers.
Concern was expressed over non-payment of refund under various pretext, ie submission of invoice summary statement, verification of stock consumed in export and finally malfunctioning of the ''Stream'' system.
Bilal assured the collector that Prgmea was prepared to provide undertaking on behalf of its members that any excess refund obtained by them would be paid back or adjusted in future claims.
The sales tax collector expressed inability to pay refund until November 10, when October returns would show the amount of stock consumed in export goods. He promised to make payment on sales tax claims deferred under section 66, but the Prgmea said that the amount of payment on such claims would not ease the exporters'' liquidity problems.
The collector was assisted, in the meeting, by Additional Collector S T RZaidi while the Prgmea side included Atiq Kochra, Abdul Wahid Bandukda, Razzak Paracha, Dowood Jhakura and Abdul Rahman.