FBR officers face off over counterfeit cigarettes’ seizure
No claimant of the seized counterfeit cigarettes has contacted FBR, says Inland Revenue Audit officer
ISLAMABAD/
PAKISTAN:
Two officers of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) have confronted each other over the seizure of two truckloads of six million counterfeit cigarettes last week, causing a loss of over Rs12 million to the national exchequer in federal excise duty and sales tax.
Shujaat Ali Khan, Inland Revenue Audit Officer at FBR’s Regional Tax Office in Rawalpindi, said that no claimant of the seized counterfeit cigarettes had contacted them since the product was recovered on April 15 during a raid.
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Fake cigarettes seized
April 18, 2021
Rawalpindi : Two truckloads of six million counterfeit cigarettes were seized by the Federal Board of Revenue [FBR] on Expressway Murree near Lower Topa, causing a loss of over Rs12 million to the national exchequer in federal excise duty and sales tax.
A team of the Regional Tax Office, Rawalpindi intercepted two trucks carrying 300 packarites of counterfeited brand ‘Classic’ and 300 packarites of counterfeited brand ‘Kissan’ on Expressway Murree near Lower Topa.
The counterfeit cigarettes were manufactured in the Wayward factory in Muzaffarabad owned by Babar Taj and Babar Naseem and were being transported to other parts of the country when seized in a raid. Lawyers, members of the civil society and students have protested many times in Muzaffarabad against the factory, but the government has yet to initiate action against it.
Islamabad:Youths from Azad Kashmir village Rowani making protest against illegal counterfeit cigarette factory Wayward and its owner pledged to continue their struggle till the factory is sealed.