News DeskPPA
Bhimber : Department of Excise & Taxation AJK, in collaboration with local police confiscated a huge quantity of duty non-paid cigarettes which were meant to reach Lahore from Bhimber, AJK.
According to the details, Inspector Inland Revenue and Incharge Excise Squad, Bhimber Haq Nawaz along with the officials of City Police, Bhimber intercepted a truck during a routine checkup at Barhang Check Post, and found 100 cartons of a couple of renowned cigarette brands named Kissan and Olympic.
Upon demand, the driver of the truck was unable to present invoices of the cigarettes under the Federal Excise Tax 2005 and Sales Tax Act 1990. The police later confiscated the truck and registered an FIR against Muhammadullah Khan s/o Abdul Akbar and Siraj Muhammad s/o Noor Muhammad, both were the directors of National Tobacco Industries (Pvt.) Ltd.
During further investigation, the driver revealed that those cigarette cartons had been loaded from National Tobacco Industries (Pvt.) Ltd. RG-1 and Sunrise Corporation, both situated in Mohra Sidha area of Bhimber. According to the FIR, 83 out of 100 cartons contained Kissan 25HL while 17 contained Olympic 25HL
It is pertinent to mention here that the duty of Rs 7.6m had been evaded through this one consignment. Sources revealed that such companies ship hundreds of trucks loaded with duty non-pad cigarettes to Lahore every year, denting billions of rupees to the national exchequer of AJK.
