January 3, 2003	Friday	Shawwal 29, 1423

ISLAMABAD, Jan 2: The Central Board of Revenue (CBR) has reduced the qualifying period of export performance for allocation of gold and silver categories to one year from three years. The move is aimed at encouraging the new exporters.

The facility among others were introduced by making amendments in the Sales Tax Refund Rules 2002, said a sales tax notification issued on Thursday.

CBR official spokesman, Vakil Ahmad Khan said this amendments would prove an incentive for the new exporters, which have shown good performance over a relatively short period of one year.

They would now be entitled to avail the benefits of silver category after expiry of a period of one year without waiting for completion of a period of three years after sales tax registration.

Mr. Khan said that the board was confident that the above amendments in the sales tax refund rules would go a long way in facilitating the exporters.

According to the amendments made in the rules, the CBR announced that all commercial exporters, who exported goods till December 31, 2002 as per old procedures of sales tax refunds, would also be entitled to claim refunds on exports made up till December 31.

The refunds would only be allowed to those exporters, who would produce the bank credit advice showing receipts of sales proceeds of exports made by them.

This was the major demand of commercial exporters that sales tax refund claims pertaining to export orders in the pipeline be sanctioned as per old sales tax refund rules, which was accepted.

The amendments were made in the sales tax refund rules 2002, following the demand from All Pakistan Cloth Exporters Association (APECA), Faisalabad and other association of commercial exporters, said a sales tax notification issued on Thursday.

According to other amendments, the definition of commercial exporters would now include such commercial exporters, which deposit the amount of sales tax on their purchases by filing sales tax return on behalf of sales tax registered suppliers and produce it for claiming sales tax refunds.

This has enlarged the scope of definition of commercial exporters, which previously meant only those registered persons, who exclusively made zero rated supplies of same state goods.

The amendments were proposed by the committee headed by the chairman, Export Promotion Bureau (EPB). The committee earlier announced rules on August 31, 2002. The rules have gone a long way in mitigating the menace of obtaining fraudulent sales tax refunds on the basis of fake, flying invoices and have also addressed the delay in issuance of refunds.

According to the spokesman, the sales tax refund depository (STARR) has been established and now sales tax refund were received through computer diskettes and processed by the computer.