Overclaimed VAT refunds exceeding Rs. 300 m mark
Anjana Samarasinghe
Detection: The Department of Inland Revenue has detected Rs.
303 million worth overclaimed VAT refunds over the past nine months.
Commissioner General of the Department of Inland Revenue A.A Wijepala
told the Daily News that "after a careful audit on claimed VAT refunds
we have found some exporters have claimed a large amount of money
exceeding the amount that needs to claimed as VAT refunds. Department
has stopped this Rs. 303 million VAT refunds for exporters".
"If the auditing proved that exporters had been paid extra as VAT
refunds department will make necessary arrangements to deduct them
through future VAT refunds, he said. "However we have produced Rs. 1598
million as VAT refunds for the past three months.
The VAT refunds had been settled through public money and the
department needs to verify the correct amount of money produced as VAT
refunds through proper audit, though some exporters complained refunds
have been delayed, he said.
"Not every application for VAT refunds is correct. Sometimes
statistics submitted by the exporters do not tally with the Customs
statistics. We request exporters to submit correct information to
accelerate VAT refunds and to give fullest cooperation for the auditing,
he said.
The Department is giving priority to exporters who come with bank
guarantees for their VAT refunds. There are 327 exporters who obtain
their VAT refunds through bank guarantees. Department also advices
exporters who need quick VAT refunds to come with bank guarantees.
"We are expecting that the VAT refund process will be accelerated
within three months with the newly recruited staff.
Due to the recent budget proposals the department expects that there
will be reduction in VAT refunds in near future, Wijepala said. |