Billion of rupees of the exporters of Value Added Textile Sector are held up with the Regional Tax Office (RTO) causing great miseries just because of apathy of the RTO, stated M. Jawed Bilwani, Chairman, Pakistan Apparel Forum (PAF). He revealed that it has been almost ten months since the Sales Tax Collectorate merged with RTO and still the most important task of transfer of many files and records from the previous Collectorate at NIPA to the RTO has not been completed.
Large number of files and records relating to exporters Sales Tax Refund Claims are still lying at the NIPA Collectorate without any proper arrangement. He wondered about the safe keeping in proper manner at NIPA of the files and records, which have not yet been transferred to the RTO.
He expressed great surprise at the gross inefficiency of the Regional Tax Office, which could not carry on such an important task of transfer of files and records relating to exporters pending Sales Tax Refund Claims and wondered that when this assignment could not be accomplished in a period of ten months, which is almost a year, how can the pending Sales Tax Refund Claims of the exporters be settled and paid to them.
He said that old Sales Tax Refund Claims worth approximately Rs 12 billion are being held up by the RTO and this most important foreign exchange earner, employment generator is encountering great difficulties and the severest ever liquidity crunch in these crucial times of economic breakdown of our country, which needs foreign exchange earning badly.
He said that as it is the implementation of the new VAT is hanging like a Damocles sword on the exporters and with the held up Sales Tax Refund Claims of this huge amount is a battering for the most harassed exporters.-PR