One time only: Dar allows SMEs to jump sales tax refund queue

Tax refunds up to Rs0.5 million to be paid in 3 weeks, refunds from Rs0.5-1 million to be cleared by April 15, 2014.

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Ishaq Dar extended further favour to the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), directing the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to expedite tax refunds.

Dar directed chief commissioners of FBR on Thursday that sales tax refunds of SMEs must be paid immediately, beyond the facilitation of a tax refund queue under a one-time exception to facilitate the sector.

“In order to ameliorate the problems of small and medium entrepreneurs (SMEs), we have decided that their sales tax refunds must be paid immediately.”

The minster directed FBR to expedite sales tax refunds up to Rs0.5 million to within three weeks and refunds from Rs0.5-1 million to be cleared by April 15, 2014, subject to verification and due processing.

The move is expected to benefit around 26,000 clients of the total 36,000 refund cases. The remaining large sum claims will be processed through queue system separately.

“We expected the chief commissioners to rise up to the challenges and give sterling performances.”

Addressing the officers, Dar said FBR was one of the most important organs of the government, as most of the expenditure budget was dependent on revenue collected by the FBR.

The FBR announced that the revenue collection in the first eight months of the ongoing fiscal year stood at Rs1.348 trillion as compared to Rs1.145 billion during the corresponding period last year, registering a 17.7 per cent growth in revenue.

The finance minister said “Pakistan’s tax to GDP ratio currently stood at a meagre 8.5% which our government has decided to improve. We have an ambitious programme of annual 1% tax to GDP growth,” he added.

FBR chairman requested approval of the finance minister to sign an MoU for adjusting sales tax on services against sales tax on supplied goods with the Sindh Revenue Board and Punjab Revenue Authority to resolve the issue of cross-adjustment of sales tax on goods and services levied by the federal and provincial governments. With the approval granted, the MoU was signed.

The briefing was attended by FBR Chairman Tariq Bajwa, the Punjab Revenue Authority Chairman Iftikhar Qutab and the Sindh Revenue Board Chairman Tashfeen Khalid Niaz.