Businessmen urged to expose smugglers
FBR says cannot stop smuggling without help from traders.
KARACHI:
Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Director Intelligence and Investigation Engineer Amer Ahmed on Thursday said that traders and businesspersons are not cooperating in identifying people who are involved in smuggling, especially smuggling linked to Afghanistan.
He was speaking at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). Ahmed urged them to stop selling and purchasing smuggled goods in order to alienate smugglers as well as those dealing in these smuggled goods.
FBR cannot raid markets where both legal and illegal both goods are kept and sold, he said, explaining that it is not always easy to differentiate between legal and illegal products. “Until and unless traders stop dealing in smuggled goods and start sharing information with us, we cannot curb smuggling,” he said.
FBR has now got the resources to act against smugglers in Karachi, he stated. “What we need is the information and support from businesspersons to identify those who purchase or sell smuggled goods,” he said.
FBR has made a plan with the government of Sindh to start taking action against the narcotic networks active in the Sindh province, Ahmed said, adding that a campaign is under discussion to control the smuggling of Iranian petrol in Karachi.
He said that a number of first information reports (FIRs) have been lodged recently after identifying cases of malpractices and tax evasion of up to Rs15 billion. “A lot of companies with huge operations have been detected in tax evasions and this is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
“We will not lodge FIRs against those who pay penalties in time,” he said, adding that lodging FIRs is not as damaging, if compared to a company’s name being put on the black list, which can completely ruin the reputation of the firm.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 20th, 2011.
Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), Director Intelligence and Investigation Engineer Amer Ahmed on Thursday said that traders and businesspersons are not cooperating in identifying people who are involved in smuggling, especially smuggling linked to Afghanistan.
He was speaking at the Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI). Ahmed urged them to stop selling and purchasing smuggled goods in order to alienate smugglers as well as those dealing in these smuggled goods.
FBR cannot raid markets where both legal and illegal both goods are kept and sold, he said, explaining that it is not always easy to differentiate between legal and illegal products. “Until and unless traders stop dealing in smuggled goods and start sharing information with us, we cannot curb smuggling,” he said.
FBR has now got the resources to act against smugglers in Karachi, he stated. “What we need is the information and support from businesspersons to identify those who purchase or sell smuggled goods,” he said.
FBR has made a plan with the government of Sindh to start taking action against the narcotic networks active in the Sindh province, Ahmed said, adding that a campaign is under discussion to control the smuggling of Iranian petrol in Karachi.
He said that a number of first information reports (FIRs) have been lodged recently after identifying cases of malpractices and tax evasion of up to Rs15 billion. “A lot of companies with huge operations have been detected in tax evasions and this is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said.
“We will not lodge FIRs against those who pay penalties in time,” he said, adding that lodging FIRs is not as damaging, if compared to a company’s name being put on the black list, which can completely ruin the reputation of the firm.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 20th, 2011.