Cases of electricity & gas tariffs: APTMA praises FTO for providing relief to export-oriented sectors

LAHORE: All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA) has appreciated Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Dr Asif Mahmood Jah for providing prompt relief to export oriented sectors against the inordinate delay caused by Export Oriented Sector Registration Cell (ESRC) of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in processing cases of export units for electricity and gas tariff.

Hamid Zaman, Chairman, APTMA (NZ) said that processing of energy tariff cases was being delayed on lame excuses and false pretexts, forcing the exporters to pay excessive tariff on electricity and gas. Consequently, they were being saddled with extra financial burden reducing their competitiveness in the global market against their local and regional competitors.

Zaman said that textile mills had apprised FTO that a Standard Operating Procedure directions of Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), was issued through FBR Circular No. 04 of 2020 prescribing procedure for enrolment of registered persons to qualify for special energy tariff. Unfortunately, the legally laid down SOP was being blatantly violated by adopting delaying tactics causing immense loss to the applicants.

The matter was immediately taken up by the Honourable FTO who vide his decision in Complaint No. 1974/ISD/ST2022 held that the delay caused by FBR tantamount to maladministration and unambiguously directed FBR to process all cases for concessionary energy tariff on Fast Track day to day basis without any delay or deviation from the prescribed procedure.

APTMA has lauded FTO for cost free redressal of the genuine problem of export industry without any lapse of time. Such decisions go a long way to help the export sector to focus on exports instead of wasting their valuable time in trivial procedural and bureaucratic formalities.

APTMA has expressed the hope that FBR would implement FTO directions in letter and spirit to ensure that all cases, received from trade bodies for energy tariff are processed on priority to avoid irretrievable financial loss to the exporters.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022