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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz said Friday that Central Board of Revenue has prepared new Sales Tax Refund Rules in order to further simplify and automate refund procedure.

Addressing a press conference along with CBR Chairman Riaz Malik and Economic Advisor Ishfaq Hassan Khan, Shaukat Aziz said they are based upon the principle of risk management.

He said under these rules, claims will be allocated to different channels, i.e. `Green', `Yellow' and `Red'. In the `Green' channel, there will be no pre-sanction scrutiny of claims except for simple cross-matching of documents with electronic data provided by the claimant, he added.

In the `yellow' channel, pre-sanction desk audit shall be conducted, while in case of the `Red' channel, proper audit and verification of payment shall be conducted before sanctioning the refund, he said.

Of course, Shaukat Aziz said 'Green' and 'Yellow' channel claims will also be subjected to post sanction audit on random cum risk assessment basis. Thus, he added, exporters, with a good profile will get their sales tax refund swiftly while others would be subject to scrutiny or audit commensurate with their profile.

Preparation of parameters for profiling of exporters is in hand, he told reporters. Based on these parameters, the sales tax computer system will itself allocate claims to `Green', Yellow' or 'Red' channels without intervention by sales tax officers, he added.

The new Refund Rules provide for full payment of claim amount in case of manufacturer-cum-exporters, instead of present system of many part-payments, he added. Under new rules most of the verifications, calculations and processing would be completed through the computer system, he said.

The existing software called STARR will be enhanced with the introduction of `STREAMS' (sales Tax Risk Evaluation and Management System), he added. This will reduce the discretion and interference of staff, he remarked. This procedure will be the final step to relieve the difficulties faced by good exporters, he added.

Sales Tax Refund Rules will now be circulated among FPCCI, Chambers and Associations for suggestions, he added. This is a part of CBR's new policy of inter-active dialogue before introducing fundamental changes, Aziz said. A pilot project for STREAMS will be launched in March, while the Rules are expected to be notified at the time of Budget 2004-05, he said.