05 March 2004	Friday	13 Muharram 1425

KARACHI, March 4: The Central Board of Revenue has developed a software for implementing the Duty and Taxes Remission for Export (DTRE) scheme, and after a trial run it could be launched in a month or so.

This was stated by member customs (CBR) Muhammad Ramzan Bhatti at a seminar organized by the Pakistan Hosiery Manufacturers Association (PHMA) on DTRE scheme here on Wednesday.

The member said the software, which was presently under trial run, would also be made available to the PHMA and other trade bodies to incorporate any suggestions or changes before it was finally launched in next 45 days.

He further said that as verification and reconciliation could be made by the software the condition of audit might be removed from the DTRE scheme and exporters' security would be released instantly.

Similarly, he said the problem of verification of DTRE approval whether it was fully consumed or not, which might result in misuse, could also be taken care of once the software was put in action.

The PHMA chairman on sales tax and customs committee Saleem Parekh explained to the member CBR over the slides about certain irritants and apprehensions being expressed by exporters about the DTRE scheme.

PHMA chairman (central) Dr Khurram Tariq and chairman Sindh-Balochistan Imran Ali Sabir were also present and assisted Mr Parkeh in his endeavour to explain all the irritants of the DTRE scheme to the member customs.

Ramzan Bhatti categorically informed the participants that the objective of the DTRE scheme was to promote the formal sector and not the informal sector, but still it was an optional scheme.

There may be some problems in the DTRE scheme, Mr Bhatti admitted, but said he had yet to listen to such difficulties from those who have already registered themselves under the scheme. He said that only those people were grumbling about the scheme who had yet to be registered under the scheme.

"Despite the fact that at present four schemes are available for exporters-cum-manufacturers - duty drawback, manufacturing bond and temporary importation - under SRO 410, but among all these schemes DTRE is mostly friendly and hassle-free scheme."

Mr Bhatti said under the DTRE scheme, an importer was free from all problems and expenses and faced less disputes at import and export stage. "Above all, the conversion period of 18 months is long. It should have been less as it promotes inefficiency and incurs higher financial cost."

The member further explains that the DTRE scheme even allows transfer of raw material to other DTRE contract, re-export or even sell it at any given time after paying all taxes.

Mr Bhatti informed the participants that last year only 300 were registered under the DTRE scheme, but today 1,110 persons were registered under this scheme and the number was rising day by day.