LTU Multan unearths Rs200m tax evasion by a factory

Business Recorder reported that the Multan office of the Large Taxpayer Unit (LTU), part of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), has detected alleged sales tax evasion of around Rs200 million at a registered factory in Multan. The finding emerged while officials examined records of sales, purchases and tax, along with computer data and other papers taken from the premises under a warrant. A search team, backed by a large police contingent, inspected the stock on site and took business records and computer data into custody for reconciliation with declared transactions and returns.

Once the liability was established, the factory management paid over Rs70 million to the tax authority and handed over security cheques totalling more than Rs130 million for the rest. Management has also given the tax authority an assurance that the outstanding sum will be settled in instalments over an agreed timeframe. FBR officials termed the case a notable step toward curbing evasion and protecting state revenue, saying the probe started after the LTU obtained information about irregular sales tax payments by the unit.

Officials said the seized records are still under review and the final tax liability will be fixed once investigation and verification are complete. The LTU Multan has also stepped up checks on other industrial units in the region, and it says action is under way against entities accused of harming the national exchequer through evasion or other irregularities.