Multibillion sales tax refund scam: DGI&I seeks to extend inquiry against officers

Directorate General, Intelligence and Investigation (DGI&I), Karachi is striving to get approval from the FBR to extend the level of investigation to the sales tax officers in multibillion sales tax refund scam, Business Recorder learnt on Thursday.
According to sources, the DGI&I had approached the authorities in revenue body, seeking formal approval to initiate inquiry against the sales tax officers. They said the move, which was aimed at expediting the process of recovery of evaded sales tax refunds, was made after receiving lukewarm response from Karachi Regional Tax Office (RTO) in this connection.
They said the DGI&I had communicated a list of beneficiaries of this scam to the Karachi RTO and asked to provide detailed information of them for further proceedings. However, the RTO, Karachi, despite receiving several intimation letters from the DGI&I has kept mum in this regard.
Replying to a question, they said the Karachi RTO is reluctant to share the information of the beneficiaries to the DGI&I with the aim to avoid legal proceedings against its sales tax officers, who were allegedly involved in this multibillion sales tax refund fraud.
Moreover, they said the DGI&I was granted special permission through notification to resume its inquiry against the said scam after the formation of separate intelligence and investigation department in RTO, Karachi for direct & indirect taxes and added the DGI&I has so far recovered Rs 500 million from the beneficiaries of this scam.
They said that some 463 registered units with the connivance of sales tax officers had fabricated this tax fraud by way of issuing fake sales tax invoices and adjusting inadmissible input tax on the basis of fake sales tax invoices and bogus import that deprived the government exchequer of its legitimate revenue to the tune of more than 35 billion rupees, approximately.