KARACHI: The Large Taxpayers Office (LTO) has again deployed its officers at sugar mills in Sindh to monitor production and sales, in an effort to plug revenue leakages.

Under Section 40B of the Sales Tax Act 1990, the LTO has the authority to assign tax officers to the premises of registered companies to keep track of production volumes, sales, and stock positions.

Sources said officers at the mills were now recording details of every truck being loaded, including purchase invoices, vehicle and driver information in an online trackable system.

PSMA concerned at ‘unsustainable’ production costs

This is the second such exercise by the LTO in Sindh sugar mills this financial year. A similar crackdown in September 2023 initially uncovered 1.9 million metric tons of sugar inventory stockpiled at 10 facilities.

This monitoring and discovery caused a substantial reduction in sugar prices, which at the time were skyrocketing due to perceived shortage. The oversight of sugar movement from factories to market has proven to be an effective enforcement measure as the FBR helped stabilize prices and generated significant tax revenue.

Moreover, they said the latest deployment of officers was aimed at plugging any loopholes and ensured continued monitoring of production and supply. The LTO hopes to not just maximize tax collection, but also prevent hoarding and artificial price inflation in coming months.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024