ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has paid Rs34 billion to the exporters under the “FASTER” refund payment system till July 1, 2022, clearing all pending sales tax refunds of the exporter community.

Sources told Business Recorder here on Tuesday that the FBR has also paid Rs1.5 billion income tax refunds to clear all pending claims till June 30, 2022. There is zero-pendency of refunds after payment of Rs34 billion to all categories of exporters under the “FASTER” system till the end of 2021-22. This is a historic event that all refunds have been cleared till June 30, 2022. The amount of refunds of Rs335 billion disbursed during 2021-22 as compared to Rs251 billion paid in the last year reflects an increase of 33.3 percent.

Similarly, the refunds of Rs105 billion issued during the fourth quarter of 2021-22 against Rs68 billion issued in the 4th Quarter last year, increased by 55.2 per cent. Similarly, refunds of Rs39 billion issued during June 2022 against Rs27 billion in June 2021 increased by 43.8 per cent.

In the month of June, the refunds have been issued to more than 5,800 taxpayers as compared to 3,100 in June last year. This is reflective of the FBR’s resolve to fast-track refunds to prevent liquidity shortages in the industry. The robust revenue performance is even more significant due to effective enforcement by field formations.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022