ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has empowered the Collectors of Customs to issue refunds of customs duties or charges to the importers/exporters without any specific monetary limit.

The FBR issued SRO 342(I)/2023, on Tuesday, to specify the maximum monetary limit of the customs officials for sanctioning refunds.

The FBR has re-defined the powers of the customs officials for the issuance of the refunds of customs duties. Under the new notification, the FBR is talking about the refunds under Section 33 (refund to be claimed within one year) of the Customs Act, 1969.

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According to the SRO 342(I)/2023, Collectors of Customs would have the authority to issue refunds without any monetary limit.

The additional collectors have been empowered to sanction refunds upto Rs2.5 million.

The deputy collectors have been authorised to sanction refunds upto Rs1 million.

The assistant collectors have been given the authority to issue refunds not exceeding Rs0.2 million.

Under the Customs Act, no refund of any customs duties or charges claimed to have been paid or over-paid through inadvertence, error or misconstruction shall be allowed, unless such claim is made within one year of the date of payment.

In the case of provisional payments made under Section 81 of the Customs Act, the said period of one year shall be reckoned from the date of the adjustment of duty after its final assessment.

In the case where the refund has become due in consequence of any decision or judgment by any appropriate officer of Customs or the Board or the Appellate Tribunal or the Court, the said period of one year shall be reckoned from the date of such decision or judgment, as the case may be, it added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023