LCCI to prepare SOPs for sales tax registration

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: The Lahore Chamber of Commerce and Industry will prepare Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for sales tax registration of manufacturers and traders and forward them to the FBR for approval and implementation.

The understanding reached during a meeting of three-member LCCI delegation with Chief Commissioner, RTO-I here on Wednesday.

The LCCI delegation, led by Acting President Kashif Younis Meher, and comprising former Senior Vice President Abdul Basit and former Executive Committee Member Shahzad Azam Khan called on Chief Commissioner Raana Ahmad and informed her about undue delay in the registration of Industrial Sales Tax.

The Chief Commissioner assured to solve the issues being faced by the tax payers. She said that the LCCI should prepare SOPs for the registration of manufacturers and traders and these would be forwarded to the FBR for a final approval. She said that the FBR is making all out efforts to facilitate the genuine businessmen and would continue to do so with the cooperation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry in the country. All the RTOs' have an excellent liaison with LCCI as both the sides belong to same camp and are working tirelessly for the promotion of economic activities in the country, she added.

Kashif Younis Meher said that it was very unfortunate that some black sheep in the FBR were trying to nullify the efforts aimed at expansion in the tax net. He said that when a businessman applies for new sales tax registration for setting up new industry, these elements made him to run from pillar to post deliberately use delaying tactics.

He said that it is a normal practice of the sales tax registration staff to take three to four months and during this period taxpayer present various excuses. Especially the new industry needs sales tax number for importing machinery which is not being issued for different reasons.

"Sales Tax Department says to take commercial sales tax number and import machinery. Industrial sales tax number will only be issued when industry will start production then the staff will verify production that has been started and FBR will convert it in to industrial sales tax number which means new industry will not be able to take refund of sales tax paid on new machinery at import stage because commercial importer can get the refund of sale tax on machinery only if he sells it to any industrial/manufacturer ST number holder."

He said the machinery lying at ports adding heavy demurrage and detention to unit cost which was never calculated in feasibilities. Because of such reasons, the FBR had failed to increase the number of taxpayers registered in the sales tax net. Similarly, he said the process of conversion of the status of sales tax registration from individual to company was also long and complicated.