FBR takes major step aimed at facilitating exporters

ISLAMABAD: In a major move to facilitate exporters, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has constituted Exporter Facilitation Committees in all major cities for dispute resolution and resolving operational/refund related issues of exporters.

This key facilitation initiative has been taken by the FBR Member Inland Revenue (IR-Operations) Zubair Bilal to resolve all issues of exporters through consultation process and regular integration.

Another major initiative of the FBR Member is that the committees would be instrumental in resolving day to day operational issues faced by exporters and end litigation between the exporters and the tax department.

According to a notification issued by the FBR, in order to facilitate exports, to remove difficulties faced by the exporters, to provide an effective mechanism for amicable resolution of disputes, and to ensure that exporters are not subjected to harassment by tax officials, the FBR has constituted Exporter Facilitation Committees at Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, Faisalabad and Sialkot.

The committee shall serve as a facilitation, mediation, and dispute resolution forum between exporters and the FBR to promote voluntary compliance, reduce unnecessary litigation, and ensure fair and transparent tax administration.

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The committees shall look into the problems and issues caused by procedural and day-to-day official business arising from field operations, detrimental to exporters, and shall point them out and have them reviewed by the committee to be resolved amicably in monthly review meetings.

In cases where facts warrant audit or any other coercive action against the exporter, the general facts of the case shall be put before the concerned committee. The committee, after due deliberations, shall decide the case by majority (quorum of at least three voting members).

However, in the of event is a tie, the Chairman of the committee shall overrule and decide the case by a short order, which shall be reviewed by the Board from time to time.

For the purposes of this circular, exporter shall mean a person who exports 80 percent or more of its turnover in a tax year.

Central Committee revealed that the committee would be headed by Zubair Bilal, Member (IR-Operations), FBR, (Chairman of the Committee).

Members of the committee included Zubair Motiwala, ex-Chairman TDAP; Musadaq Zulqarnain TI, Chairman M/s Interloop Ltd; Muhammad Javed Balwani, ex-President Karachi Chambers of Commerce; Relevant Chief Commissioner-IR holding jurisdiction over the case and Arshad Nawaz Cheena, Chief (Revenue Operations), FBR and President FPCCI-Ex-officio non-voting member.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026