Regional Tax Office (RTO), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Peshawar has accelerated crackdown against large scale illegal businesses of cigarettes and has put its special surveillance teams on high alert.

According to a press release issued here on Friday by the RTO Peshawar, the special surveillance has confiscated nearly 3,889,000 cigarette sticks in different raids while several vehicles including cars, Mazda trucks and dumper etc have also been taken into possession. The teams of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) have confiscated nearly 920,000 illegal cigarettes sticks last month.

The Commissioner-in-Land Revenue, Tariq Jamal has appreciated the performance of his team that is exhibited despite highly limited resources and expressed the resolve that the illegal business of cigarettes and tax theft in the cigarette business and their movement will be dealt with iron hand and no leniency will be shown in this regard. Meanwhile, FBR has formally launched its drive to create awareness about its automated 'Point of Sale' (POS) system planned for all mega retailer outlets and shopping malls in order to bring them into registration in the provincial metropolis.

However the traders sought six month time to persuade the federal government for issuing notification about a joint committee to determine the tax issues in light of the FBR's unilateral decision for collection of taxes from business community. These issues were discussed in a meeting in Peshawar wherein FBR was represented by chief commissioner in-land-revenue Sardar Ali Khwaja and the traders' delegation was headed by Haji Sharafat Ali Mubarak. The commissioner in-land-revenue Muhammad Tariq Arbab, traders' representatives Said Akbar Khan, Nasiruddin, Aurangzeb Khan and others also shared views.

Khwaja urged the traders to register themselves with the FBR and submit their statements till Dec 31 and play their role in strengthening of the national economy. He said that the automated 'Point of Sale' (POS) had great significance to ensure transparency in the tax collection system.

The POS, he said was latest online system which would provide accurate data to FBR about sale/purchase as well the customers would be able to know that the taxes were going to the national exchequer in fair manner.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019

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