The Pakistan Readymade Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (PRGMEA) (NZ) has expressed its concern over the performance of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Fully Automated Sales Tax e-Refund (FASTER) system as it has been unable to proceed exporters’ tax refunds within the stipulated 72 hours.
“PRGMEA welcomes Prime Minister Imran Khan’s directives to the Federal Board of Revenue to clear pending refunds of exporters, removing bottlenecks from the new refund payment system of the FBR,” said PRGMEA (NZ) Chairman Sohail A Sheikh in a statement.
Sheikh asked PM Khan to get his directives implemented immediately, as the delay was affecting exporters especially from SME sector. He said that the exporters were facing a severe liquidity crisis due to delays in FASTER.
He said, “At a time when banks are already reluctant to finance small industrial units amidst tight monetary policy, the exporters need quick and speedy system of refunds payment of their own money. The Small and Medium Enterprises sector in the country needs proper financial facilitation and friendly policies’ support”.
Sheikh also urged commercial banks to improve access for the SME sector, adding that the sector makes large contributions to the country’s GDP as well as generates employment on a large scale. Despite this, the financing percentage of SMEs remains pathetic in the overall financing to customers of various levels, he added.
He said that timely payment of tax refund claims was still a major issue and needed resolution on a priority basis, especially for the SME sector. He said that increase in exports of the country was an important objective as far as improvement of economy of the country was concerned. It should be the utmost priority of the government to facilitate exporters of the SME sector in every possible way, he concluded.
