The Multan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) President Khawaja Jalaluddin Roomi said that FBR should clear the dues before the deadline of April 20 given by the apex chamber of commerce and industry .If the FBR fails to fulfil this demand, the business community will be forced to take action as per decision of FPCCI, he added.
He said exporters are facing a lot of hardships because of a liquidity crunch. He said many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Multan, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan Faisalabad, Kasur and Gujranwala have already closed down their operations as they could not sustain the financial overheads in the presence of huge outstanding rebates and refunds in sales tax, income tax and customs duty. The situation has deteriorated to the extent that industries that took bank loans to meet their export commitments are now being turned away by banks, he added.
In the last budget speech, the finance minister promised to clear all outstanding dues of exporters. But only Rs 26 billion were paid in August 2016 while Rs 27bn were paid in the middle of November. Refunds of round Rs 250bn are still stuck with the FBR, he said.
He said the Federal board of revenue (FBR) continues to claim that only Rs 150 bn is outstanding, insisting that its figure does not include the deferred amount. "This is wrong. It is only damaging the country's exports that have come down from $25bn to $20bn," he noted.
All Pakistan Bedsheet and Upholstry Manufacturers Association (APBUMA) Chairman Khawaja Muhammad Younas said the FBR is resorting to delaying tactics to postpone the payment of rebates and refunds by opening cases for audit. "Exporters cannot claim refunds until their audit is over," he said.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017