Member IR (Operations) of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Dr Muhammad Ashfaq has said that an upgraded version of the Fully Automated Sales Tax e-Refund (Faster) system has officially been launched for expeditious and transparent processing and issuance of exporters’ refunds. Faster Plus will resolve the issues of refund blockage. Addressing textile exporters at Pakistan Textile Exporters Association on Saturday, he said that the new upgraded system will ensure that all refund claims which are filed are processed and no refund claim will be stuck up at the pre-processing stage. Highlighting the core developments, he said that a new dashboard has been activated at FBR e-portal to view the stage-wise update regarding refund claims without contacting any officials of FBR or PRAL. A mobile app to enable a Sales Tax Refund claimant to view the status of refund claim at each stage of processing has been made part of the FASTER Plus System. Responding to the issues raised by textile exporters linked with sales tax refund processing, member IR operations informed that payment of pending income tax refunds beyond Rs. 50 million will be started soon as FBR is desirous to clear the balance sheet till the end of this financial year. He maintained that necessary instruction for payment of deferred and u/s 66 cases have already been forwarded to the concerned circles. Answering a question, he said that commercial exporters are a very important part of the economy and in order to streamline their refund payment, FBR is working with SBP. He reiterated that the Government is fully committed to expediting the growth of commerce to the maximum possible level by using all available means. Earlier, PTEA Chairman Muhammad Ahmad welcomed the Member IR Operations. He lauded the Government’s effective measures to cope with the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; especially the disbursement of outstanding refunds which significantly helped in easing off the liquidity crisis and supported the export industry in the prevailing turmoil situation. PETA’s Patron-In-Chief Khurram Mukhtar pointed out the core issues pertaining to the release of sales tax refunds within seventy-two hours, removal of irritants Faster system, issuance of ZRI certificates for a reduced tariff of electricity, delay in income tax refunds and other issues.