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LAHORE, Nov 8: The revenue collection during the fiscal year 2001-02 is likely to fall short of target by Rs13-14 billion on account of loss in customs duties and sales tax the government is expected to suffer by mid-December due to fall in export orders after the terror attacks on September 11 followed the US-led war on Afghanistan.
This was stated by Central Board of Revenue Chairman Riaz Malik while speaking to the businessmen at the Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry here on Thursday. He was accompanied by Export Promotion Bureau chairman Tariq Ikram.
However, he expected the Afghan crisis to “stretch” beyond the middle of the next month, implying that the loss in revenue could be far greater than predicted at the moment.
Malik said the customs clearance of the export cargo already present on the ports fell 25 per cent overnight after the Sept 11 events, resulting in the revenue loss of about 40 per cent. He said the “shortage” in the customs revenue was continuing at about 22-25 per cent as the value of the LCs opened during September 11-30 was 11 per cent lower than last year. He said some major shipping lines were reporting a 15-16 per cent reduction in the containerized tonnage during November and December (into and out of Pakistan).
REFUNDS: Malik said the CBR would release the customs and sales tax refunds of about Rs11-12 billion in November and December apart from the current liabilities as instructed by President Gen Pervez Musharraf.
He said the CBR had released Rs26 billion as customs and sales tax refunds during the first four months of the current fiscal, which was Rs7 billion higher than last year. He was hopeful that the release of arrears of duty drawback claims and sales tax refunds would take care many other problems like delaying refunds on flimsy excuses.
The chairman said the CBR was opposed to the decision to suspend the order of further reducing the duty drawback rates in December and March next year. He said the CBR would try that the “freeze” put on the order was lifted in July.
