Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) DG Intelligence and Investigation (Inland Revenue) has unearthed a massive Income Tax fraud of Rs41 millions in which income tax official, in connivance with Punjab Provincial Co-operative Bank (PPCB) and National Saving Centre (NSC) employees, issued fake refunds to bogus taxpayers. FBR officials disclosed that in this tax scam, income tax refunds had been issued in the names of bogus taxpayers on the basis of excess tax deductions on electricity bills, which had been declared fake by the Multan Electric Power Company (MEPCO) authorities at Rajanpur. They pointed out that income tax refund vouchers which are non-negotiable instruments and are “Payee’s A/c Only” cheques have been fraudulently encashed through single person’s accounts of persons other than beneficiaries of said bogus income tax refunds. They revealed that 391 income tax refund vouchers of Rs7,178,200 have been encashed through twenty two (22) bank accounts, including personal accounts of employees of PPCB at Punjab Provincial Co-operative Bank at various branches of district Rajanpur. While 784 income tax refund vouchers of Rs15,050,865 have been encashed through bank accounts maintained in the name of persons other than beneficiaries of those refunds, at National Saving Centre, Rajanpur. In total, 2161 persons to whom refunds of Rs41,311,850 have been issued do not exist on Stock Register of Income Tax Office, Rajanpur. Detailed investigation conducted by the Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation (Inland Revenue), Lahore, has unveiled that fake and forged records of bogus taxpayers were prepared by the income tax officials at Rajanpur to claim bogus refunds. Later on, refunds were issued in the names of those bogus taxpayers. Managers and staff members of PPCB prepared fake “Bills of Collection (BCs)” of different persons and after getting income tax vouchers cleared from National Bank of Pakistan, Rajanpur credited the same into accounts of persons other than beneficiaries of said fake refunds, including accounts maintained by bank managers, staff of bank and friends / relatives of bank staff. Similarly, managers and staff of National Savings Centre, Rajanpur prepared / entertained fake endorsements given on the back of refund vouchers / cheques pertaining to accounts, which either did not exist or did not pertain to the payees’, got those refund vouchers cleared from NBP, Rajanpur and credited to irrelevant accounts.
