FBR Owes Rs. 85 Billion in Sales Tax Refunds to Exporters, SSGC

The financial burden of pending sales tax refunds to exporters and companies has climbed to Rs. 85 billion so far this fiscal year, high-level sources informed ProPakistani. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) owes at least Rs. 30 billion to key export sectors—textiles, leather, sports goods, carpets, and surgical equipment. The sales tax refund burden for Sui Southern Gas Company Limited alone has reached Rs. 25 billion. However, Rs. 30 billion worth of refunds are delayed due to non-claim issues in the system. Sources close to FBR said refunds that have been properly identified in the system are being processed within 72 hours. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also urged the FBR to expedite refund payments. The regulator has also set a deadline of June 2025 to clear these refunds for exporters in the five major sectors. To manage the backlog, 10 percent of the refunds will be cleared on a monthly basis. To address these delays, FBR has requested data from all Regional Tax Offices (RTOs) and Large Taxpayer Offices (LTOs). Additionally, sources added that a monitoring cell will be established within the FBR to oversee the clearance of sales tax refunds for the export sector.