The business community of the Southern Punjab has reiterated its demand that the government should release refunds of billions of rupees of textile and value-added industry according to its commitment till December 31st, 2015. President of Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Fareed Mughis Sheikh clamoured for the non-release of huge amount of customs rebate and sales tax refunds that had pushed the exporters to financial crisis.
The exporters worried over the non-release of their customs rebate and sales tax refunds that came to huge amount scaling down the textile manufacturing. He called the backlog of the refunds a 'dilemma', saying the textile manufacturing was at stake for liquidity shortfall. It is indeed a great irony and dilemma that huge amount of customs rebate claims of the exporters are indefinitely held up by the Federal Board of Revenue since last almost one and half years and sales tax refund claims since one year, he said. He said the FBR was indifferent to the exporters' grim financial conditions and was unwilling to share Analysis Sheet of the deferred refund claims with textile sector just to let them know the reason behind the backlog.
Exporters' sales tax refund claims are deferred and the FBR does not even care to provide the Analysis Sheet of such deferred claims to the exporters for them to know the reasons behind deferred claims, he said. He stated that Computerised Refund System for clearing refund claims was made out of order to delay payments as the same system worked properly to collect the tax. Fareed Sheikh said that the FBR mechanism was behind the backlog of refunds and feared the continuing delays may ruin the country's exports. He said that the FBR withdrew funds from the exporters' bank account without issuance of show cause.