PIAF calls for timely payment of all dues

Chairman warns of liquidity crunch if payments are further delayed

LAHORE: While appreciating the finance ministry for clearing the exporters’ refund claims of Rs23 billion, Pakistan Industrial and Traders Association Front (PIAF) Chairman Irfan Iqbal Sheikh has asked the government to clear all the dues at the earliest in order to address the liquidity crunch.

In a joint statement along with PIAF Senior Vice Chairman Tanveer Ahmed Sufi and Vice Chairman Khawaja Shahzeb Akram, he said the refund payments were of no use to the manufacturers and exporters if they were not released timely.



“Though it is very late, it will still encourage the exporters and full payments should be made rather than in stages,” said Sheikh.

He said these refund payments would not only cover exporters, but all other claimants in all sectors of the economy. This would resolve liquidity problems that the taxpayers were facing, he added.

The government has cleared the backlog and fulfilled its second promise with the business community for clearing their refunds where Refund Payment Orders (RPOs) had been issued till April 30, 2017 in case of over Rs1 million.

He said tax collection by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) increased to Rs3.362 trillion, but the stuck refund amount was also increasing in the same proportion.

The PIAF official urged the FBR to ensure early and timely payment of refund claims of the export-oriented sectors as they were facing severe hardship.

PIAF members were already in deep trouble and were experiencing tough times due to multiple internal and external challenges.

The chairman said the authorities concerned should take a realistic view of the matter and allow all kinds of refund of sales tax and income tax to the exporters and manufacturers at the earliest.



Due to depreciation of the rupee, the manufacturers were already facing financial crunch and delay in refund payments was adding to the trouble, he said.

He warned that further delay could trigger serious liquidity crunch, forcing the exporters to close down industrial units.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 18^th, 2017.

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