ISLAMABAD, July 12: A row has erupted between the officials of the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) and exporters of five sectors over the deadline for issuance of sales tax refund on the duty paid stock.

Sources in the CBR told Dawn on Tuesday that a committee has been constituted for resolving the issue, as the exporters were opposing the deadline of June 30 for filing of refund claims on the duty paid stock announced through the SRO538 of 2005.

The committee headed by former president of Karachi Chambers of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) would meet the chairman CBR in the next two days for finalizing the issue of refunds.

The government in the budget 2005-06 had announced zero rating of sales tax for the five sectors—textile, leather, sports, carpets and surgical goods but did not come up with any clear procedures for giving refunds on the already duty paid stocks to exporters.

The sources said that it would now be a difficult task for sales tax officials to determine the actual validity of the invoices being provided by the exporters for claiming refunds.

On the other hand, sources said that the CBR feared that the facility might be misused by some exporters by purchasing invoices from the market for making claims for getting refunds.

This might result in billions of rupees loss to the national kitty as there is no apparent mechanism to stop the issuance of flying invoices, added the sources.

There are around 6000 exporters. Of these 90 per cent are directly or indirectly involved in exports of these five sectors.