The President of Pakistan, Dr. Arif Alvi, disposed of 42 representations of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) in cases of bogus sales tax invoices on Sunday.
The invoices in concern are worth over Rs. 1.2 billion.
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The FBR had filed the representations with the President assailing the orders of the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) passed in suo motu cases in which bogus Sales Tax Refunds were reimbursed either fully or partially to the fake claimants by delinquent officials of the FBR.
The FBR’s Directorate General Intelligence & Investigation-Inland Revenue exposed the huge scam and Red Alerts were issued to the concerned field formations. However, no action was initiated against the FBR officials and the fake claimants.
On taking suo motu notice of the matter, the FBR had issued directions for the investigation and identification of the officials involved in the verification of the registered persons (RPs), and for the initiation of disciplinary action.
In pursuance of the FTO’s recommendations and Dr. Alvi’s previous orders passed in similar cases, the FBR constituted six fact-finding inquiry committees to deal with 130 suo motu cases related to fake claims for refunds.
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The Terms of Reference (ToR) of the committees were meant to identify the wrongdoings and involvements of officials in each case and fix responsibilities. These committees were tasked with preparing a draft charge sheet and a statement of allegations for each official, and submitting a report to the board within 30 days.
In light of the findings of the committees, Dr. Alvi disposed of the FBR’s representations pertaining to the cases in which full or partial refunds were paid fraudulently. He directed the FBR to submit a monthly implementation report to the Federal Tax Ombudsman’s Secretariat until the completion of the action against each case.
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He also ordered an opportunity of show-cause and hearing for an official in case of any departmental action proposed against them in order to satisfy the requirement of due process and the principles of natural justice.
