DGI&I IR nabs man involved in invoice scam

The Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation, Inland Revenue, Karachi, on Monday claimed to have nabbed a person, allegedly involved in multimillion rupees fake invoices scam. According to sources, the fraud surfaced when the Directorate had picked several registered persons for scrutiny, due to abnormal figures of inputs and outputs in returns.
They said the Directorate detected Rs 120 million discrepancies in the ledger of (X) company as the scrutiny of said company showed that it was involved in issuance of fake invoices to some 100 companies and its outputs were being used for input tax adjustments by other registered persons.
The department sent letters to its 50 suppliers to verify the veracity of the information. They said although the suppliers of the said companies in response to the letters denied to have supplied any goods to the said company, the operator of this fake unit used to file monthly sales tax returns, just to get undue gains. Sources said this bogus unit by claiming inadmissible input tax through fake and fraudulent sales tax returns, fake bank account and fake sales tax invoices deprived the national exchequer to the tune of Rs 120 million, approximately. Keeping all these information in view, the case was established under section 37(2) of Sales Tax Act 1990, and the Directorate by exercising the power of section 37(A) of the Act has taken the accused person (A) involved in this illicit activity into custody.
Replying to a question, sources said the accused person during initial course of investigation confessed to have issued fake sales tax invoices to the tune of Rs 120 million, since 2009, and these invoices were given to other registered persons for input tax adjustments. Furthermore, they said, the Directorate has decided to extend the level of investigation to other beneficiaries of this scam as some 15 suppliers of the said unit are going to be issued notices to prove innocence. They said that an FIR has been lodged and the Customs Court in this regard has granted his four-day remand to the Directorate. They opined that the accused person could be granted five years imprisonment or 100 percent penalty or both in exercise to the power of section 33 of the Act.