FBR to begin refund processing for tax year 2020

KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Thursday directed tax offices to initiate processing of income tax refunds for tax year 2020 for facilitating taxpayers in meeting liquidity problems.

The FBR said refund claims of around Rs74.31 billion were filed for the tax year 2020. Out of which 6,073 taxpayers have filed applications covering Rs4.24 billion.

“It is our institutional stance that current year’s refund liability should be paid out of the current year’s revenue stream and that no due refund liability should be withheld,” the FBR said in an official note sent to chief commissioners of Inland Revenue.

The FBR further said it would also help the tax machinery ward off unnecessary complaints against the department for delayed processing of refund applications and/or non-payment of refund to the taxpayers.

The FBR directed all the chief commissioners to dispose of all the applications lodged under Section 170 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 by January 31, 2021.

The FBR is facilitating the taxpayers with issuance of a refund amount considering the economic challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic. In this regard a huge amount was paid during the last fiscal year.

The FBR paid around Rs173.5 billion refunds under income tax, sales tax and customs duty for tax year 2019, which was 43 percent higher when compared with Rs121.63 billion during the preceding tax year. In the first five months of the current fiscal year, refunds to the tune of Rs80 billion against only Rs41 billion last year were issued, which has greatly helped boost the economic activity in the country, according to a statement issued by the FBR.