Textile associations have called the FBR's move to freeze exporters accounts "unethical" and condemned the act. Muhammad Jawed Bilwani, Chairman, Pakistan Apparel Forum and Value-Added Textiles Associations.
Irfan Z. Bawany, Chairman, Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers & Exporters Association, Ijaz Khokhar, Chairman Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers & Exporters Association, Rafiq Godil, Chairman, Pakistan Knitwear & Sweater Exporters Association & Khwaja M. Usman Pakistan Cotton Fashion Apparels Manufacturers & Exporters Association, in a joint press release, have strongly condemned the unethical and anti-export moves by FBR to freeze and attaching bank accounts of exporters, arbitrarily and without noticing, in the name of tax recovery under section 48 of Sales Tax Act and Rules thereof.
They expressing genuine concern, stated that the FBR officials to achieve shortfall of budgetary revenue collection targets, have been targeting the exporters, while misusing power and authority whereby several notices were issued to exporters under Section 48 of Sales Tax Act 1990 & Rules thereof for attachment of bank account and debit amounts from directly from exporters' bank accounts in-spite the settled principle that enforcement of recovery cannot be enforced until first appellate remedy is exhausted. Even bank accounts of those exporters are freeze who have already filed appeals and the matter was under adjudication. In some cases bank accounts were freeze before notices reached to exporters.
They lamented that to FBR officials are attaching bank accounts of exporters from all over Pakistan. In the name of recovery, on one hand government through FBR is attaching bank accounts to debit amounts to collect short-payment and to meet their shortfalls while on other hand delaying on one pretext or the other refunds of exporters worth billions of rupees in shape of refunds of sales tax, withholding, customs rebates, duty drawback on taxes & levies.
Previously, in such unfair moves to attach bank accounts and debit amounts, in appeals decision came in favour of exporters and Refund Payment Orders (RPOs) were issued but in many cases payments still have not been released to exporters. Even for RPOs approved six months or one year back payment has not been released.
The conduct of FBR is also highly contradictory as their entire energy is focused to further squeeze the already existing tax payers while no effort is witnessed to bring tax evaders to net to broaden tax-to-GDP ratio. Exporters are fearing, amid liquidity crunch, failure of materialising new exporters order which will further decline textile exporters. The Chairmen of Pakistan Apparel Forum & Value-Added Textiles Associations urged the Prime Minister and Finance Minister to take immediate cognisance of the situation and order FBR to refrain from such unethical and deplorable actions and immediately defreeze the bank accounts of exporters which have been attached.-PR