FBR starts operations against sales tax fraud: Five netted in nationwide operations
Five persons have been arrested by the Federal Board of Revenue for issuing fictitious invoices worth billions of rupees in sales tax to the government which such rascals caused to be lost. This has been part of the operations launched by the FBR against the organized tax fraud across the country.
These arrests are part of a much bigger scam, and that is to prevent the issuance of counterfeit invoices. Yesterday, nationwide operations led by the Intelligence and Investigative Department of the FBR apprehended a key fraudster along with four Chief Financial Officers- all alleged for running fake business ventures.
In Hyderabad, the authorities have arrested the CFO and a procurement officer of one of the largest battery manufacturing companies in Lahore, accused of facilitating fraudulent claims on input tax to the tune of more than Rs1 billion for lead. The CFOs of two interrelated textile companies in Faisalabad were also put behind bars for the same reason of having lodged false claims for input tax on coal, thereby causing considerable losses to the state exchequer.
One of the major suspects – Taswar Shahid was arrested by the court that dismissed his pre-arrest bail. Shahid is alleged to have phantom companies to make false claims for sales tax from which he derives and inflicts financial damage on the government.
The FBR crackdown is part of a broader plan to enhance tax compliance and prevent financial crimes. FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood Langrial recently said that Rs3 trillion in sales tax loses annually was because of fraud, and the CFO of major companies was often found dealing with them.
