KARACHI: Traders received a significant liquidity boost as the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) agreed to release Rs83 billion in sales tax (ST) refunds and Rs43bn in duty rebates.

Saquib Fayyaz Magoon, Senior Vice-President of the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI), disclosed this after a meeting with FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial held on Tuesday.

The meeting was held under the Prime Minister’s directive to hold monthly meetings with the Karachi business community in the first week of every month.

He said the issues of tax refunds and deferred refunds were also discussed in detail. It had already been decided that deferred refunds would be paid within one to two months. However, the matter of old pending refunds was also raised forcefully in the meeting.

FPCCI says ST, rebates to be cleared in 2-3 months

In a statement, Mr Magoon claimed that pending sales tax refunds amount to approximately Rs83bn and duty rebates at Rs43bn, and the FBR chairman directed that they be paid within two to three months.

The prevention of misuse of the Export Facilitation Scheme (EFS) was a significant development, he said, adding that exporters were facing difficulties due to higher valuation rulings on raw materials imported under the EFS. The 10 per cent value-addition requirement under the EFS applies to exports of finished goods, not imports of industrial raw materials.

He said that in the past, exports could be held up if the required 10pc value addition was not reflected in the finished products. However, exports will no longer be stopped solely on this basis. The relevant goods declaration (GD) will be allowed to proceed for export, while the value addition, overall cost and valuation details of the products will be reviewed subsequently to determine whether the prescribed requirements have been met.

The meeting also specifically addressed pre-arrival GD filing. Mr Magoon informed the FBR chief that due to the funds identification (FI) condition imposed by banks, importers often wait until the last moment to arrange payment, which discourages pre-arrival GD filing.

In principle, Mr Magoon claimed that the FBR agreed that the FI condition would be checked at the out-charge stage to increase the number of pre-arrival GDs and reduce clearance time. Necessary amendments to the State Bank regulations will also be considered in this regard.

FPCCI also demanded that the period for resolution of classification disputes be reduced from 120 days. He said the chairman FBR immediately issued orders reducing the period to 90 days.

The meeting also raised anomalies relating to tax exemptions under the Fifth Schedule, and agreed to resolve them immediately in consultation with the relevant departments.

The meeting decided that low-risk ST registrations would be completed within one week, while for high-risk cases, verification would be obtained by contacting the relevant associations, and the registration process would be expedited thereafter.

Published in Dawn, September 10th, 2026