KARACHI, April 10: The Central Board of Revenue on Saturday said that reforms agenda of removing mistrust, minimizing direct contact between taxpayers and collectors and giving maximum facilities to the taxpayers will continue for attracting much-needed local and foreign investment.
This was stated by CBR chairman Abdullah Yusuf in a meeting with members of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (Aptma) held at the Aptma House. He said without getting new investment higher production and growth could not be achieved. "Only higher investment could open up employment opportunities and also reduce poverty level."
Abdullah Yusuf is second non-revenue man to hold the CBR top slot and throughout his interaction with the leading textile tycoons not even once gave the impression of getting revenue at any cost. On the contrary, he kept emphasizing on the need of narrowing gap of mistrust and fears of the taxpayers on the collectors and the CBR as a whole.
"There is a greater need of changing the mindset of revenue collectors so that the perception about the CBR of not being a good organization could be changed." However, he said changes made for improving the working of an organization were directly linked with a change in the system, therefore, by changing a person's improvement in the system and working could be achieved.
Responding to a point raised by Aptma chairman Waqar Monnoo, he said the government wanted to collect due tax only which was needed to run the state. However, he agreed with the Aptma chief that sales tax refund problems were causing a lot many difficulties for the export business.
"Despite the fact that attempts are being made to resolve the ST refund issue but a real solution is to be found, and there is no reason that a taxpayer should run from pillar to post to get his money and also incur money on it."
The CBR chairman said a system could be evolved in which the State Bank of Pakistan could be involved for ensuring prompt and due payment of refund. He said any export consignment needed remittance back in the form of export proceeds, and once it was received the SBP should directly remit the refund amount into the account of an exporter.
However, he said in the entire economic development the CBR had a major role to play, and instead of being revenue-oriented it should ensure growth, which also took care of more revenue collection. He said: "There is a look of despondency in the youth, who are seeking employment and if we do not enhance growth by attracting fresh investment things such as unemployment and poverty could take ugly turn."
The reforms agenda in the CBR is going on as per the recommendations given by task forces headed by Saeed Qureshi and Shahid Hassan. Under the reforms agenda, the CBR last year launched the Universal Self-Assessment Scheme (USAS), which itself is a unique step as no other developing country has so far adopted this scheme.
Mr Yusuf said that USAS's role would be expanded and similarly, the Large Taxpayers Unit, Karachi, and the Model Taxpayers Unit, Lahore, could also expand in order to facilitate all categories of taxpayers.
With the changed global conditions where exporters have to compete in a free market, local issues have to be streamlined so that efficiency and higher production could be achieved. As protections and quotas are fading away self-sufficiency has to be encouraged and promoted.
S.M. Muneer, former president of the FPCCI, drew the attention of the CBR chief towards a basic issue and said when the government fixed revenue collection targets this changed the mindset of tax collectors who use all sort of tactics to meet the target.
Dr Ikhtiar Beg, a leading industrialist, said that if the government could take a U-turn viz-a-viz Afghan policy then as to why it was not doing the same towards revenue collection, which should be growth-oriented instead of revenue-oriented.
Iqbal Ibrahim, another leading textile tycoon, drew the attention of the CBR chairman towards social compliance and said with a quota-fee market around the corner there was a greater possibility that foreign buyers would be demanding towards compliances such as security, labour, health, environment and child labour.
He said that in the presence of local compliance the exporters could not afford to meet expenses and costs of their foreign buyers and suggested that these should be withdrawn.
