The National Board of Revenue has rolled out a series of steps to simplify the value-added tax (VAT) refund process, seeking to ease long-standing concerns among exporters and businesses over delays, complex procedures and cash-flow strain.
NBR Chairman Md Abdur Rahman is set to inaugurate the upgraded system on Wednesday at a programme at the Revenue Building.
Officials said the measures are part of wider efforts to modernise VAT administration, strengthen compliance and provide relief to legitimate taxpayers, especially export-oriented firms that rely on timely refunds to manage liquidity.
Under the VAT framework, businesses are eligible for refunds when input VAT exceeds output VAT, a common situation for exporters whose supplies are zero-rated.
In practice, however, refund payments have often been delayed, with many firms waiting months or even years to receive amounts due.
To tackle the problem, the NBR has expanded its automated e-VAT system, allowing taxpayers to submit refund applications online along with the required documents.
Senior officials said the aim is to curb fraudulent claims while avoiding harassment or unnecessary delays for genuine taxpayers.
“We are working to make the refund process faster, more transparent and less discretionary,” an NBR official said, adding that increased automation would sharply reduce human intervention, a major source of past delays and disputes.
As part of the reforms, the NBR has also issued revised guidelines to VAT offices, setting indicative timelines for processing refund claims and instructing field officials to avoid seeking repetitive or irrelevant documents.
