BOR Sindh issuing notices to industries for audit, inspection

KARACHI: The Board of Revenue (BoR) Sindh has started issuing notices to industries once again for audit and inspection in the SITE area, according to a press release issued by the SITE Association of Industries on Saturday.

Chairman of the association Abdul Wahab Lakhani said more than 30 industries have received notices this week. He recalled that the BoR had also issued such notices in the past but could not succeed in its efforts after agitation from the industries.

The notices have demanded the industries to make the records chargeable with stamp duty ready and also to attach a list of 28 documents required for carrying out inspection.

These documents include staff salary sheets and labour wagers roll, payment vouchers, affidavits, agreements, partnership deeds, transfer of allotment orders before lease, allotment orders in respect of plot and flats issued by the developers and builders, bank guarantees, bills of entries, exchange and lading, indemnity/security, issuance of terms finance certificates, debentures, issuance of share certificates, charter party, contract agreements relating to execution of work and procurement and cartage of store materials and engineering consultancy services and purchase orders, documents of title in respect of properties owned by the organisation, banking and other documents creating charges on properties, letter of credit, documents of various loans to the employees, partition deeds, policies of insurances and marine policies, power of attorney, promissory notes, release deeds and share transfer deeds.

Industries are receiving notices under section 73 of the Stamp Act 1899, which states that every public officer having in his custody any registers, books, records, papers, documents, or proceedings, the inspections, whereof, may tend to secure any duty, or to prove or lead to the discovery of any fraud or omission in relation to any duty, shall at all reasonable times permit any person authorised in writing by the Collector to inspect for such purpose the registers, books, papers, documents and proceedings, and to take such notes and extracts as he may deem necessary, without fee or charge.

Commenting on Section 73, Lakhani said the Section, referred to for inspection, was applicable to public officers having in their custody any registered books, records, etc. Private sector enterprises or companies are neither public officers nor their establishments are public offices, therefore, Section 73 is not applicable to industries in the private sector, he added.

Chairman SITE association said the notices appeared to have been issued on misinterpretation of relevant provisions of law. He said provision of law for public officers or public offices was being applied to private sector industries, which is highly uncalled for and clearly intended to cause harassment.

Lakhani urged Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Minister for Finance, Sindh, Syed Murad Ali Shah, and Advisor to the Chief Minister Sindh on Investments, Zubair Motiwala, to look into the matter at the earliest.

Copyright PPI (Pakistan Press International), 2011