ISLAMABAD (January 17 2003) : As the major central excise duty (CED) paying units located in other parts of the country are facing problems in dealing with Large Taxpayer Unit (LTU) Karachi, the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) has transferred jurisdiction of such big units to their respective collectorates.
Now, LTU, Karachi will only deal with the industrial concern situated in Karachi East and West.
In this regard, the CBR has amended SRO 329(I)/2002 through an SRO(I)/2003 issued here on Thursday.
Sources told Business Recorder that the CBR had transferred the jurisdiction of major companies engaged in the production of excisable products from collectorates to LTU in budget 2002-2003 to provide better services under one roof.
All multinational companies operating in different cities were transferred to LTU, Karachi.
These include petroleum companies, petro-carbon units, oil and gas, banks, modarbas, investment companies, financial institutions, non-resident banks, car manufacturers, insurance companies, paper board/packages, vegetable ghee and oil, shipping, pharmaceutical companies, paint, engineering, chemical manufacturers and traders, electronics and electrical goods, food and allied, hotel and restaurants, tobacco manufacturers, power generation, transport/cargo handling and communication and other miscellaneous items.
However, such units were facing procedural difficulties while dealing with the LTU as some of the manufacturing units were located in far-flung areas of NWFP or Punjab.
On the other hand, large taxpayer unit is operating in Karachi.
Furthermore, the collectorates of sales tax and central excise also complained about the substantial reduction in the central excise duty (CED) due to the transfer of units from collectorates to LTU.
Sources added that the question arises whether excise authorities contacted these units before making such an important decision for transferring their records to LTU, Karachi.
Citing an example, they said that excisable units operating in NWFP have to visit Karachi to carry out their day to day operations relating to tax matters, which create serious problems for units having no office in Karachi.
The situation got worst when collectorates also started pressing the CBR to revert the decision and revise the list of big companies enlisted in the LTU, Karachi.
The CBR has revised the jurisdiction of LTU, Karachi and transferred manufacturers of excisable commodities belonging to other parts of the country to their respective collectorate of sales tax and central excise.
According to the amendment, the units will now directly report to their respective collectorates instead of LTU Karachi.
The text of the SRO issued on Thursday: In exercise of the powers conferred by section 37 of the Central Excises Act, 1944 (I of 1944), read with clause (xv) of rule 2 of the Central Excise Rules, 1944, the Central Board of Revenue is pleased to direct that in its Notification No S.R.O.329(I)/2002, dated the 15th June, 2002, the following further amendment shall be made and shall be deemed to have been so made on the 1st July 2002, namely:-
In the aforesaid notification, in the preamble, after the word “below”, the commas and words “if licensed in the Collectorate of Sales Tax and Central Excise (East), Karachi and Collectorate of Sales Tax and Central Excise (West), Karachi”, shall be inserted.
