Refund of Amount Collected through E-Pay dt 25.08.2023
OFFICE MEMORANDUM
Subject: Amount Collected through E-Pay
I am directed to refer to the subject cited above and to say that the Government of the Punjab launched E-Pay application on 04th October, 2019 for all business to Government and person to government Payments to facilitate the public and improve the revenue collection through easy payment collection. This program allows the citizens of Punjab to pay their taxes using three different electronic payment channels namely internet / mobile banking, ATM and Over the Counter (OTC).
2. This system is linked to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and all banks via 1- Link network E-Pay Punjab allows individuals and companies to pay their taxes swiftly by using E-Pay Punjab application with convenience while sitting anywhere around the globe.
3. All receipts are electronically generated and credited to SBP which reports these receipts to the Treasury Office, Lahore which has been declared as the Central Treasury of E-Pay Receipts. Under this arrangement, payment of refund as per existing rules is not feasible and refunds of revenue, collected through E-Pay, for districts other than Lahore has come to a halt.
4. To resolve the issue, following guidelines have been approved by the Finance Department for refund of revenue collected through E-Pay Punjab application in the public interest. These guidelines are applicable where refund sanctioning authority is stationed in the districts other than Lahore:-
GUIDELINES FOR REFUND FOR REVENUE RECEIVED THROUGH E-PAY.
(i) The DAOS shall request TO Lahore for issuance of one or more refund vouchers / books of STR-34 according to the requirements of refunds under E- Pay.
(ii) TO, Lahore shall issue the Refund voucher(s) STR-34 as per demand to the district through registered post or special messenger.
(iii) The applicant shall submit a request for refund of revenue, deposited through EPay application, to the concerned refund sanctioning authority.
(iv) The refund sanctioning authority shall forward the application to the local District Accounts Office (DAO) of his district for issuance of STR-34 (refund voucher).
(v) Refund voucher, already received from TO, Lahore, will then be issued to the refund sanctioning authority, by the local DAQ, after due entry in the STR-34 issuing register.
(vi) The refund sanctioning authority shail fill in the refund voucher as per prevalent rules instructions and after attaching the necessary documents including but not limited to sanction orders, payment advice, CNIC and a certificate that the refund is issued against the amount which has not been utilized, the complete case will be submitted to the local DAO of his district
(vii) The DAO shall scrutinize the case for its completeness as well as correctness and shall authenticate specimen signatures of refund sanctioning authority officers. He will check the availability of receipts through EPay login provided by PITB. The local DAO will also ensure re-verification where so required.
(viii) After satisfying himself, the DAO will forward the case to the TO, Lahore through a special messenger or registered post.
(ix) TO Lahore will process the refund claim for payment. The so authorized refund voucher will then be dispatched to the DAO through a registered post.
(x) This DAO will hand it over to the beneficiary after due verification. The beneficiary will then submit it to his banker for clearance from SBP Lahore.
5. These Guidelines will remain in force till 31st December, 2023 or till formulation of rules in this regard whichever is earlier.
