BHIMBER (Kashmir English): Inland Revenue Department of Azad Kashmir seized illegal cigarettes worth crores of rupees from Watan Tobacco Company in Barnala area of Bhimber, a press release said on Monday.
According to the Inland spokesperson, the Excise Circle of the South Zone, Bhimber, under the leadership of Deputy Commissioner of the Inland Department, Bhimber, Muhammad Tanveer conducted a major operation against the factory management to smuggle cigarettes illegally.
As per details, DC Tanveer Khalid on Monday received information from reliable sources that Watan Tobacco Company was planning to smuggle cigarettes illegally in private vehicles. On which the Deputy Commissioner immediately mobilized the field staff and reached the Toll and Excise checkpost Barnala.
At 12:15 pm, the private vehicle Toyota Corolla car beetle white Punjab registration number LED-6378A-18, in which the factory owners were travelling, was stopped by the field staff of the Inland Revenue Department on suspicion, the spokesperson said.
Upon the vehicle search, Inland authorities recovered 400 sticks (80,000) of Goldmark brand 20HL cigarettes from the trunk of the vehicle, which were being illegally smuggled without paying federal duty and sales tax. According to the spokesperson, this quantity attracts a federal excise duty of Rs. 404,000 while the sales tax is Rs. 78,000.
Later, the Deputy Commissioner and the departmental staff conducted a detailed search operation of the entire factory area, which resulted in tracing a secret warehouse located at the back of the factory. Illegal cigarettes worth crores of rupees, consisting of more than 100 cartons, of Goldmark brand and other brands were recovered from a secret warehouse located behind the factory, the spokesperson added.
The departmental staff is preparing inventories of all the seized goods and, as per an estimate, the value of the seized cigarettes is in crores of rupees, and the taxes/duty applicable on them also costs lakhs of rupees.
The Deputy Commissioner Inland Revenue, Bhimber has taken possession of all the goods and the vehicle used in this illegal shipment and has started further legal action.
It may be recalled that the Prime Minister Azad Kashmir Chaudhry Anwarul Haq has given a clear policy to strictly deal with such law-breaking elements. Commissioner Inland Revenue Syed Ansar Ali also conducted a detailed inspection of all the cigarette units located in Bhimber district a few days ago.
