New operational plan of DGI&I IR: telecom audit, markets mapping, documentation top priorities

The new operational plan (2012-13) of the Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation Inland Revenue (IR) Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has given priority to investigative audit of the telecom sector, mapping of business markets at national level, analysing utilities data to document potential persons and continuation of reviewing prominent Pakistanis tax contributions.
Sources told Business Recorder here on Friday that the directorate of intelligence IR has chalked out a comprehensive plan for 2012-13 to check tax evasion and documentation of economy. The plan included composite/investigative audit of telecom sector; taxpayers' mapping; tapping active and potential but unregistered taxpayers through liaison with utility services providers; prominent Pakistanis-tax analysis; detection of counterfeit cigarette/beverage units; development of Central Data Base at Lahore and linkages with other data bases of different organisations.
According to the operational strategy of the directorate, focus would be on audit of telecom sector through private audit firms. The directorate would concentrate on tapping live commercial/ industrial cases with the help of utility services providers field staff; detection of counterfeit units through unified teams of different I&I-IR; linkages between the FBR and the Nadra and strengthening intelligence units to support investigation. During 2011-12, the directorate has combated the menace of bogus refunds; broadening the tax-base (BTB); monitoring of withholding taxes and verification of inflated agricultural income. The agency has also been actively engaged in complaint handling whereas surveillance and monitoring has been done by the mobile teams of the agency.
In 2011-12, the directorate has also conducted tax analysis of Prominent Pakistanis including public office holders and politicians; media persons; players; professionals; academicians, literary figures and private school owners; prominent social figures, philanthropists and NPO/NGO organisers; religious leaders/ scholars, Ulema, Pirs and etc; real estate tycoons and property dealers; hoteliers, caterers, hall/ lawn owners etc; feudal lords, waderas, sardars, etc.
Sources said that the directorate has also introduced the concept of 'mystery shopping' in Pakistan to use it as an effective tool to detect tax evasion in different sectors during 2011-12. With the help of 'mystery shopping," the agency has detected around 30 units (fully operative but un-registered) of locally manufactured beverages, spices, detergents etc.
The directorate of intelligence IR has also circulated the sector study on "Cable TV operators" among the Regional Tax Offices ( RTOs), sources said. During the period under review, the agency has conducted workshops/ seminars on edible oil and vegetable ghee sector; national savings centres (NSCs); monitoring mechanism and post offices. The withholding audit of NSCs and Pakistan Post, conceived, developed, launched and monitored by I&I-IR HQs. During March-June 2012, the exercise generated additional revenue to the tune of Rs 2.3 billion.
In cases of investigative audits, the FBR has approved 08 cases for audit. Out of these cases, the agency has completed 6 cases of which an amount of Rs 23,039,136 was detected and Rs 2,078,220 was recovered. During 2011-12, the agency has made 17 seizures, 14 contravention reports were made; duty/ taxes recovered involving Rs 8.601 million; 56 preliminary investigations reports forwarded to I&I-IR Directorates and RTO/ LTUs; nine Red Alerts" issued in suspected refund claims; four raids were conducted and two counterfeit units were sealed.
Under the special initiative of the agency, a total of seven seizure of non-duty paid beverages were made during 2011-12. The value of goods seized amounted to Rs 26,897,305; amount of revenue involved Rs 3,063,484 and amount recovered was Rs 2,890,238 during this period.
Another special initiative of the agency was Anti-Illicit tobacco trade during 2011-2012. During the period, the agency seized around 10 million non-duty paid locally manufactured cigarette sticks; seized around 700,000 non-duty paid cigarettes foreign sticks; seized around 20,000 kgs un manufactured tobacco; sealed two un-authorised warehouses of un-manufactured tobacco; patrolling of evasion prone "Tobacco Belt" and also conducted tax education of wholesalers and retail outlets.
The performance of the directorate of intelligence IR also detection of Benami Bank transaction cases by eight persons at Faisalabad amounting to Rs 1562.34 million. The unexplained investment of Rs 160 million has been detected by the agency and forwarded to RTO Islamabad; investment of Rs 2.6 billion by a family of Mianwali and the case has been sent to RTO Sargodha; a steel unit of Gujranwala committed concealment amounting Rs 471 million and case been referred to RTO Gujranwala; a case of associates involving evasion of over Rs 1 billion has been sent to RTO Lahore; the case of a trading company involving loss of Rs 59.034 million forwarded to RTO Karachi-I and violation of Gas Sales agreements by an enterprises and an Oil Production mill, involving amount of Rs 260.466 million sent to RTO Multan.
The directorate has forwarded a case of massive evasion of federal excise duty (FED) by a soft drink manufacturer of advertisement expenses to DTE I&I-IR Lahore. The agency has detected evasion of FED by franchise schools and referred the case to Directorate of I&I-IR Lahore; evasion of FED by pharmaceutical companies detected and shared with Regional DTEs I&I-IR. The Sector Study Report on edible oil and vegetable ghee was forwarded to Directorate I&I-IR Faisalabad and cases of un-registered beverages units were referred by the agency to the Directorates I&I Lahore and Karachi.