ISLAMABAD, April 17: Federal Tax Ombudsman Justice (retired) Saleem Akhtar has asked the Central Board of Revenue to immediately release the withheld refund of a complainant.

The ombudsman asked the CBR to direct the collector of sales tax and central excise, Peshawar, to work out the exact amount of refund of the complainant and release it within two months.

The Pakistan Mineral Water Bottling Plants stated in its complaint that in pursuance of a Supreme Court decision, they had moved an application for refund of excess excise duty, amounting to Rs1.646, paid on account of chilling charges in the retail price of aerated water.

According to the ombudsman’s decision, the collector of sales tax and the central excise turned down the refund claim, saying that the incidence of duty had been passed on to the consumers.

The complaint was told that the amount of sale price recovered from the consumers comprised all charges, including chilling charges.

The ombudsman recommended to the CBR to set aside the order passed by the additional collector and direct the collector of sales tax to ask the complainant to furnish a certificate from a chartered accountant.