Exporters? troubles with the revenue department for delayed or non-payment of tax refunds may soon come to an end with the department floating a proposal to do away with some of the rules for tax refund. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) in an internal report circulated to field officials has sought comments on these proposals.
The report suggests to do away with the system of tax officials scanning the documents given by exporters after a clearance certificate from a chartered accountant.
The rule to get an audit done by a chartered accountant was introduced for the facility of exporters to give them respite from endless processes for scanning of documents for refund. It said the documents given by exporters for claiming refund can be checked by a certified CA who can give a certificate to speed up the claims.
However, the rule, according to the CBEC report has made the process more tedious for refund claimants. The report has gone to suggest that once a chartered accountant gives the certificate to the exporter, he need not go to the tax official to carry the process for all over again. The tax official can take the CA?s certificate for face value unless he smells something unusual, a senior official told FE. Meanwhile, many of the CBEC commissioners who have received the report support the suggestions and say that the rules could be changed according to the suggestions and that could make the tax refund system more convenient.
The report has also pointed out that the rules for refund should be specific and should not be ambiguous and need further clarification.
The issue of refund claims being delayed has assumed significance as exporters have always been troubled by the problem. The revenue department also has been trying to solve the issue but this time a report in black and white may actually bring a difference and speed up the process.
