ISLAMABAD, May 6: The Central Board of Revenue (CBR) has notified conditions for allowing exemption from payment of past liabilities of sales tax to all those retailers who will register themselves with the sales tax department up to June 30, 2004.

According to the SRO246 issued on Wednesday night, the latest move would not entitle any person to claim or take refund of any amount of sales tax already paid by or recovered from him and no audit of the record for the period of exemption would be conducted if the amount of sales tax was paid in terms of this notification latest by June 20, 2004.

According to the conditions, exemption from the whole amount of sales tax, turnover tax, additional tax and penalty payable on supplies made prior to registration will be available to retailers who registered or enrolled before July 1, 2000.

Those retailers registered or enrolled during the period from July 1, 2000 to the day preceding the date of this notification will also get exemption from the whole amount of sales tax, turnover tax, additional tax and penalty payable on supplies made prior to the July 1, 2000, and the amount in excess of two per cent of the turnover declared with the income tax authorities for supplies made during the period from July 1, 2000 to the day preceding the date of this notification.

The exemption from the whole amount of sales tax, turnover tax, additional tax and penalty on supplies made prior to July 1, 2003 and the amount in excess of two per cent of the turnover declared with the income tax authorities for supplies during the period from July 1, 2003, to the date of registration will be available to all those retailers who apply for registration or enrolment from the date of this notification up to June 30, 2004.

Similarly, through another notification SRO247, the CBR has notified conditions for allowing relief to all those unregistered retailers involved in litigation to pay the principle amount with 25 per cent additional tax latest by June 20, 2004.

According to the conditions, those persons against whom any amount of sales tax was outstanding in terms of an audit observation, audit report, demand notice, assessment order or adjudication order or due to any other reason, will have to pay an outstanding principal amount of sales tax and 25 per cent of additional tax on it; persons who failed to pay any amount of sales tax or took inadmissible adjustment of input tax due to any reason will pay the amount of sales tax not paid or inadmissible input tax adjusted as the case may be and 25 per cent additional tax.

Those persons who wrongly obtained refund or took inadmissible adjustment of input tax on the basis of fake or flying invoices, wrong calculations or any other reason will pay the amount of refund wrongly obtained or inadmissible input tax adjusted as the case may be and 25 per cent of additional tax.

And those persons who avoided payment of further tax by wrongly issuing invoices in the name of registered persons will have to pay the amount of further tax involved and 25 per cent additional tax.