ISLAMABAD: Adviser to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue Dr Hafeez Shaikh on Friday asked the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to devise a strategy to clear the backlog of refunds to exporters and individual taxpayers.

The direction came from the adviser during a virtual meeting of the FBR Technical Committee. FBR Chairman Javed Ghani and other senior officials participated in the meeting. Abid Shaban, Chairman of the Committee gave a detailed presentation during the meeting.

According to an official announcement, it was deci­ded to engage experts as co-opted members to streamline the working of the Technical Committee. Repres­entatives of the Commerce and Industries Divisions would also be included to further strengthen the Technical Committee.

During the meeting, ‘FASTER’ system of Sales Tax Refund for exporters was appreciated. It was agr­eed that both FASTER and Rebate systems would be fine-tuned for more efficient results on priority basis.

The technical committee directed the Ministry of Commerce to clear the backlog with reference to Drawback of Local Taxes and Levies refunds expeditiously.

FBR would devise a strategy for liquidation of pending income tax returns.

Adviser Finance urged the Technical Committee to simplify relevant procedures ensuring clarity and transparency in revenue collection.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2020