Model Customs Collectorate (Preventive) Lahore on the directions of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Shabbar Raza Zaidi visited two famous malls of the provincial metropolis to carry out survey of sale of imported and locally produced goods to ensure compliance of national laws. According to a spokesman of the Collectorate, FBR Chairman has cautioned the trader community against dealing in non-tax paid locally produced and smuggled goods as Pakistan's economy in general and industrial activities in particular are being seriously affected due to such goods in the markets.
FBR to strengthen its efforts has started a phased programme in this regard which includes verification of documents regarding locally produced goods and imported goods. Accordingly, joint teams of Customs and IRS have been constituted to visit major shopping areas. The Lahore Collectorate teams visited Emporium Mall and Packages Mall during last two days and held dialogues with branch managers and representatives of renowned outlets and briefed them about the purpose of their visit.
The FBR teams were carrying production, domestic sales and import data of these outlets. The team seeks identification of the imported and locally produced goods and highlighted discrepancies where record of any particular outlet did not commensurate with goods being displayed. In such cases, the outlets were advised to update their returns. The representatives of the outlets responded positively to the message which Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) team conveyed to them, the spokesman concluded.