Reference may please be made to SRO. No. 871(I)/2006 dated August 25, 2006, on the captioned subject issued by Ministry of Commerce in terms of which F.E. Circular No. 14 dated September 15, 2006 was issued by SBP wherein R&D Support was made available to leather footwear sector.

In order to streamline the process/implementation of R & D Support, following guidelines/decisions, duly approved by Ministry of Commerce, are issued:-

a. Period of 90 days would be applicable only for submission of cases and not for resubmission of cases.

b. If the H. S. Code is eligible and the basic description of goods given in invoice/GDF match with the description of goods in Pakistan Customs Tariff Codes (PCTC), cases will be entertained.

c. Claims having H. S. Codes under heading “others” will be entertained if the ‘E’ Form /Shipping Bill/Invoice contain the same H. S. Codes.

d. Combined claims where 2 or more Form “E” are involved will be accepted.

e. Differences in dates on MR (on the back of GD Form) and date of shipment on B/L will be ignored. This difference is usually due to requirements of L/C. The date on MR shall be considered for calculating the eligible period.

f. Commission Paid Certificate will not be required.

g. Pakistan Footwear Manufacturers Associations (PFMA) will be responsible for thorough verification of its members’ status. It will ensure proper utilization of R&D Support by its members. Once the claim duly certified by the PFMA is submitted to SBP-BSC (Bank) Offices, the same will be entertained without further authentication/ reference to PFMA. However, as a precautionary measure, PFMA is required to furnish a list of its members to SBP and Ministry of Commerce for information and record. Further, it will submit a statement giving details of cases certified by them on monthly basis to the concerned area office of SBP-BSC (Bank).

h. Copy of Bill of Lading, Seaway Bill, House Airway Bill with relevant Carrier Airway Bill and Through Bill of Lading will be acceptable. However, where date of shipment is not available on the document, additional evidences of shipment may be required to determine the eligibility of claim.

i. The claims for R&D Support which could not be filed / submitted to SBP-BSC Offices within prescribed time period of 90 days, for any reason, are allowed to be submitted by June 15, 2007, as a one time extension.

Authorized Dealers are advised to bring the same to the notice of all their constituents.