Official sources told Business Recorder on Monday that the measure has been taken after detection of cases where refund/rebates were claimed without actual export of consignments. In some cases, the quantity shown as exported was misdeclared on fake documents to get rebate and sales tax refund.
The issue came to the light when tax officials detected a glaring system error in Starr refund automation program where goods exported were recorded in the system only till the filing of shipping bills. This resulted in inaccurate as well as incomplete data of export consignments, which need immediate rectification of error.
They said that the copy of goods declaration (GD) is submitted to the customs for obtaining rebate/refund after export of the consignments. However, it was noticed that certain unscrupulous exporters filed claims without making actual exports. There was need to capture data of the shipping lines to ensure authenticity of export documents used for claiming rebate.
Now, the CBR has placed this check on the computer system to obtain 'Mate receipt' from the shipping lines for confirmation of the export consignments. 'Mate Receipt' is issued after receipt of cargo by the vessel, signed by the Mate. This confirmation would ensure that the actual export has taken place and refund/rebate could be sanctioned.
The department had the provision to obtain confirmation from the shipping lines showing that the consignment has been exported. However, the concerned officials did not use this provision resulting in system errors and misuse of the facility. No refund would now be paid to the exporters till the confirmation from the shipping lines.