Leather exporters in Pakistan have been told they will be given priority for tax refunds according to a statement from the PLGMEA (The Pakistan Leather Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association). The pledges were made at a recent meeting between a delegation of the led by chairman Fawad Eijaz Khan, and Nisar Muhammad, a government official responsible for sales tax collection.

The meeting led to an agreement, in principle, that exporters who make exports of finished goods with "maximum value addition" (i.e those in the government’s "gold" category), should be included in the priority list for refunds. In response to the PLGMEA's request to refund claims on courier charges, Nisar Muhammad said that all the registered exporters are now entitled to receive refunds of the sales tax paid for the period from July 2001, and onward as per current CBR directives.

The PLGMEA delegation emphasised the need to reduce the current waiting period for refunds for the gold and other categories and Mr Muhammad agreed to shorten the period after clearing the backlog. He made assurances that cheques will be issued to gold category holders and other categories by the 10th and 15th of each month respectively, effective from April 2002. Mr Muhammad said that he has issued directives to the officials concerned to dispatch cheques to the leather garments exporters immediately for the claims made up to November 2001.