Loads of illegal cigarettes seized

Inland Revenue teams confiscate copies of famous brands, non-duty paid smuggled cigarettes

KARACHI:

The Inland Revenue Intelligence Karachi Directorate seized 850,000 packets of non-duty paid cigarettes and illegal copies of famous cigarette brands of the country in two separate raids.

Through the operation, tax evasion of Rs20 million of federal excise duty has been caught. Directorate sources told The Express Tribune that as part of the crackdown on illegal cigarettes, the IR teams raided a warehouse in Liaquatabad and a shop in Muhammad Ali Society Karachi on secret information.

A case has been registered against the accused by confiscating the illegal and non-duty paid cigarettes recovered during the operation. Sources said that the seized fake and non-duty paid cigarettes are made in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which are sold by organised gangs in rural areas of Punjab and Sindh. Further investigation of the directorate in this regard is going on.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2023.