LAHORE – The Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation, Lahore, has arrested two more accused in a recently unearthed huge tax fraud case of Rs 10 billion.
Sources from FBR disclosed that the directorate had arrested two accused, namely Abbad Muhammad Zuberi alias Shariq Zuberi and Muhammad Ejaz, involved in issuance of fake sales tax invoices for generating illegal input tax adjustment or refund. Both are residents of Dharmpura who were wanted to the directorate in a tax fraud case of Rs 7.5 billion.
Sources said that the directorate had obtained physical remand of both accused for eight days from the Special Judge, Customs, Taxation and Anti-Smuggling, Lahore, Iftikhar Ahmad Bhatti. The Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation, Lahore, had so far arrested eight accused, namely Khalid Mehmood, Khalil, Rana Saqeem, Rana Shahzad, Muhammad Azam Qadri and Ikhlaq Ahmad, on similar charges during the last couple of months, sources added.
They also revealed that some recipient registered persons, including Lion Steel, Sahah Industrial Enterprises, M B Dyes Chemicals and Interwood Mobel had invoked writ jurisdiction before the Lahore High Court agitating that the Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation-FBR, Lahore was not competent to audit and investigate criminal proceedings against petitioner registered persons on the law point of jurisdiction.
However, the court in its Wednesday hearing directed petitioners to appear before the investigators of the Lahore directorate, on Saturday, along with relevant record. The court also ordered the directorate that petitioners be not arrested till the next hearing, on April 27.
Sources said that the arrested, along with a cartel of other gangsters, were involved in issuance of fake sales tax invoices on behalf of 144 dummy supplier registered persons, making dummy transactions with recipient registered persons primarily located at Lahore, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Karachi.
They revealed that instant detection of sales tax evasion of Rs 7.5 billion is linked to an earlier investigation and unearthing of sales tax evasion to the tune of Rs 2.5 billion in which the gangsters, who had earlier issued fake sales tax invoices to recipient registered persons for claiming illegal input tax adjustments, included accused Muhammad Azam, Ejaz Latif, Asif Hanif, Iftikhar Ali, Muhammad Fayyaz and others.
Sources disclosed that principal accused Muhammad Azam and Mirza Arif Baig, an employee of Regional Tax Office, Lahore had already been convicted by the Court of Special Judge, Customs, Taxation and Anti-Smuggling, Lahore.
Sources maintained that FBR estimates that around 4,200 recipient registered persons, spread across the country, have claimed illegal input tax adjustment/refund, including registered persons involved in these cases.
