FBR Gives Final Deadline to Field Formations to Pay All Pending Sales Tax Refunds

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has given a final deadline of July 31, 2021, to the field formations to pay all pending sales tax refunds filed under the FASTER system by the exporters.

The pending refund claims of exporters under the FASTER system stood to the tune of billions, officials told Propakistani.

In this regard, the FBR has issued instructions to the field formations, here on Wednesday for the processing of deferred sales tax refund claims.

The FBR wants to communicate the Board’s decision to enhance refund risk parametric checks from 12 to 15 percent of export value in cases of partially integrated manufacturing concerns and commercial exporters.

1. The process for the purpose is that all exporters would continue to file their refund claims through the FASTER module.
2. The refund claims up to 12 percent of the export value will be automatically processed by the FASTER system.
3. Any amount exceeding 12 percent will be deferred and marked to the field offices concerned for processing and sanctioning.
4. Field officers would thoroughly scrutinize the claims to ascertain their admissibility and genuineness.
5. After satisfying themselves as regards the admissibility and genuineness of the refund, field officers will sanction the refund whereby refund payment orders (RPOs) shall appear in the CSTRO’s payment system in a separate especially earmarked system.
6. The CSTRO will release payment in all genuine cases falling within the range of 12 percent to 15 percent of the export value.
7. No refund claims beyond 15 percent of the export value would be sanctioned/paid under any circumstances, the FBR added.

All cases marked to the field involving higher refund-to-export ratio, by their very nature, are to be taken as high-risk cases, and put to stringent levels of both pre-and post-refund audit, to optimally safeguard the exchequer against any undue releases on this account.

Accordingly, field formations shall speedily dispose of all pending cases either accepting or rejecting the refund, but no claims, on whatever count, be kept pending beyond July 31, 2021, the FBR added.