KARACHI: While upholding its commitment to detect and highlight the tax evaders in the country, the Customs Directorate of Post Clearance Audit-Karachi has detected evasion of taxes/duties to the tune of Rs 153.028 million just in the month of August 2015.
In an interview with Customs Today, Directorate of PCA Director-Karachi Gul Rehman said that his directorate had detected some 29 cases of tax/duties evasion in just a month. However, the same directorate in August 2014 had detected cases worth Rs 2.5 million.
In these cases, the audit observations of some 6 cases while contravention reports of 23 cases have been issued and the importers who brought loss to the national exchequer are directed to pay the short paid amount in ten days period, he said.
“There are some 6 cases of inadmissible benefit of Sr No 20 and 21 of SRO 575(I)/2006 dated 05.06.2006 in which the importers evaded Rs 34.752 million. The countries of origin of the imports are Korea, Germany, UK, Italy, Sweden, Japan, Netherlands, USA, Canada, Finland, UAE, Belgium, Australia, Indonesia, Oman, China, France and Singapore”, Gul Rehman added.
Moreover, the evasion of short payment of custom duty and withholding income tax by claiming inadmissible benefits of SRO 567(I)/2006 dated 05.06.2006 have also been detected in which five importers evaded a total of Rs 5.997 million. In these cases, the countries of origin from where the consignments were imported include India, China and Kuwait, he went on to say.
Furthermore, Gul Rehman says at least 10 cases were detected for evasion of leviable custom duty, sales tax and withholding income tax by clearance of their goods at lesser weight/quantity than the declared weight/quantity Rs 2.248 million. The importers in these cases had imported consignments from China.
The importers also availed illegal benefits of Sr No 54 of SRO565(I)/2006 dated 05.06.2006 causing loss of at least Rs 35.283 million, he said, adding that evasion of custom duty, sales tax and income tax due to mis-declaration of classification on import of Calcium Sulphate to the tune of Rs 24.714 million.
Elaborating further, PCA director added that Rs 1.156 million evasion was detected under short payment of sales tax and corresponding income tax in violation of SRO1125(I)/2011 dated 31.12.2011; Rs 3.301 million for short payment of income tax under section 148 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001; Rs 17.428 million for inadmissible benefit extended under SRO450(I)/2001 dated 18.6.2001; and Rs 5.011 million for nonpayment/short payment custom duty, sales tax, additional sales tax, special FED, and income tax without claim of any valid exemption/concessionary notification.
It is mentioned here, that Federal Board of Revenue had posted Gul Rehman as Director PCA-Karachi in January 2015 and the officer broke all the records as cases of tax evasion was detected to the tune of Rs 1 billion in six months despite the fact that the directorate is facing serious issues like shortage of staff etc.
