ISLAMABAD, Oct 18: The Central Board of Revenue has granted International Freight Forwarders an exemption/waiver from additional tax and penalty accrued due to late filing of tax returns for four months of 2004 (June to September).

According to a sales tax notification issued on Monday, the exemption due to late filing of tax returns for the months - June, July, August and September 2004 - in terms of section 34A of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 would be subject to the condition that they should file all outstanding tax returns latest by October 25, 2004.

The CBR has also given retrospective effect to its earlier notification SRO621 of 2004 to be now effective from June 12, 2004 in which rate of central excise duty (CED) in respect of NVOCCs, international freight forwarders, consolidators and slot carriers, was reduced from the standard rate of 15 per cent to Rs200 per house bill of lading.

As regards international freight forwarders council's request for clarification regarding chargeability of sales tax on negotiable house Bill of Lading (B/L), the CBR has also clarified that CED at the rate of Rs200 per house B/L shall be collected only against those house B/Ls, which were negotiated in the bank.