Under the government’s Rs 1,240 billion stimulus package announced by the Prime Minister on 27th March, the government has released Rs 100 billion to industry under tax refunds on 2nd April 2020. Dr Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, Advisor to PM on Finance & Revenue noted that these are unprecedented steps taken by the government to support business and employment in difficult times.

The tax refunds released to the industry are the highest in Pakistan’s history. Dr. Shaikh stated that the government stimulus package aims to address the liquidity challenges faced by the industry. Improved cash flow position of the companies will ensure that workers get their salaries on time. All tax refunds as of 31st March 2020 have now been cleared and the payments made yesterday include Rs 52 billion in GST refunds to Industry (other than export industry), Rs 10 billion released to the Export industry through the FASTER system and Rs 15 billion in duty draw back payments.

On top of these payments the government also released Rs 20.5 billion under the DLTL scheme. During the current fiscal year (Jul-Mar FY20), the government has so far released Rs 163 billion in tax refunds to industry (under GST and income tax), which is a 61.4% increase from Rs 101 billion released (Jul-Mar FY19) last year.