While curbing the illicit trade of non-duty paid cigarettes, the subsidiary body of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Inland Revenue Enforcement Network (IR-EN) has exposed the supply line of non-duty paid cigarettes by seizing three trucks loads of cigarettes, manufactured in Kashmir, on route to Lahore.
The sources in the FBR have revealed that IR-EN seized cigarettes worth Rs 30 million were on way from AJK to Lahore.
The FBR has exposed the nexus of AJ&K based cigarette manufacturer Walton Tobacco and M/S Numeric Distribution Network (Pvt) Ltd, involved in the illegal trade of non-duty paid cigarettes; offering cigarettes at a cheap price against the set price Performa by the FBR and related institutions.
According to the official sources, AJK based cigarette manufacturers are willfully involved in illicit cigarette trade in Pakistan by dumping low priced/non-duty paid cigarette. Lahore-based M/S Numeric Distribution Network (Pvt) LTD Lahore is acting as a conduit in the aforesaid scheme of tax fraud, adding that this company act as a shield for AJ&K based cigarette manufacturers and cartel involved in the trade of non-duty paid cigarettes, whenever any AJK based cigarette is seized/detained.
Lahore-based M/S Numeric Distribution Network (Pvt) LTD Lahore is acting as a conduit in the aforesaid scheme of tax fraud, adding that this company act as a shield for AJ&K based cigarette manufacturers and cartel involved in the trade of non-duty paid cigarettes, whenever any AJK based cigarette is seized/detained.
It was also learnt that this company while garbing of few original sales invoices, they try to justify all illicit sale of AJK based cigarette in Pakistan. “Detention and seizure of 840 cartons carrying fake invoices have exposed the whole scheme of duty tax/fraud which is going on for so many years”, official sources revealed.
During the aforesaid exercise, it has been observed that huge quantity of low-priced cigarette is being supplied & sold in Pakistan by AJK based cigarette manufacturers.
During initial investigation, the booked driver was associated with M/S numeric distribution networks PVT Ltd Lahore and he confirmed that the fake sales invoices were issued by Walton Tobacco, Mirpur AJ&K, which were to be deposited at warehouse located in Manga Mandi Lahore and then another set of invoices were issued by the warehouse management for onwards transportation.
Thus practically sales invoices issued by AJK cigarette manufacture were only meant to defraud Pakistan tax authorities, sources added.
