ISLAMABAD, July 16: The Central Board of Revenue said on Friday that exporters of the five zero-rated sector could only get refund or adjustment against their duty paid stocks used for making exports up to September 30, 2005.

A sales tax official told Dawn that normally in a period of three months, the exporters exhausted their stocks for making exportable products.

While the government, through a sales tax notification SRO538 of 2005, stipulated the tax period ending on June 30, 2005 as a cut-off date for declaration of sales tax on paid stocks, whereafter no exporter should be entitled to claim any adjustment or refund of sales tax on procuring tax paid stocks.

According to the official, the benefit of refund or adjustment in respect of stocks declared under the SRO538 should be admissible only in case such stocks were used for making exports up to tax period ending on September.

In case of exporters, other than those covered under STREAMS, the claims should be processed and sanctioned, if admissible, on the ‘first in, first out’ basis after proper cross matching of input tax invoices and verification of stocks, if required.

While the refund would be processed under the sales tax refund rules in vogue in case of zero-rated exports, where inputs other than those already zero-rated under the notification SRO621 of 2005 have been used after acquiring the same on payment of tax.

The government had issued a notification SRO538 of 2005 to provide for smooth and quick switchover from refund regime to ‘no sales tax, no refund regime’ in the zero-rated sector, the official added.