Saturday 14 December 2024
Mirpur (News International New - NNI. 14 December 2024) Senior Parliamentarian and former Minister of Tourism and Transport Muhammad Tahir Khokhar said that not only billions of rupees have been corrupted in the name of edible oil in Azad Kashmir, but this business is still going on, in which companies in Azad Kashmir are exempted from income tax for the first five years under Section 65D of the Tax Act 2001. Any company that wants to do manufacturing business in Azad Kashmir is exempted from income tax for the first five years, and according to the notification issued by the Azad Kashmir Government in 1995, any company registered in Azad Kashmir is exempted from sales tax for the first five years. Companies that will do manufacturing in Azad Kashmir will be given a conditional exemption from sales tax of 18 percent, that is, the imported raw material will be brought to the borders of Azad Kashmir and after processing it, all the steps to bring it to its final form will be done here inside the factory, after which it will be offered for sale.
In the last ten years, seven oil companies in Mirpur imported edible oil worth more or less Rs 10 billion in the name of Azad Kashmir. But this edible oil did not reach Azad Kashmir. Rather, in the name of Azad Kashmir, the Inland Revenue Officers colluded with these companies to get an 18% tax exemption on edible oil alone and committed corruption worth Rs 20 billion and Rs 3.24 billion on pati. Among these oil companies, Neelam Oil and Ghee Mills Private Limited imported edible oil worth Rs 27.327 billion in 2022-23. Comfort Oil and Ghee Mills Private Limited imported oil worth Rs 8.48 billion in 2021 and Rs 12.18 billion in 2022. (According to available records, this company did a lot of manufacturing in Azad Kashmir) Salam Oil imported oil worth Rs 20 billion, the record of Mirpur Oil may have been lost.
Kashmir Oil Private Limited imported oil worth Rs 3.56 billion in 2021-2022 and Rs 7.19 billion in 2022-23. KKR imported edible oil worth Rs 4.81 billion and AA Foods imported edible oil worth Rs 11.66 billion from 2017 to 2022. However, from 2014 to 2022, these companies were registered in Azad Kashmir, declared themselves as manufacturers, imported edible oil worth Rs 1.10 billion, obtained exemption from low taxes and sales tax, and sold the oil outside the boundaries of Azad Kashmir.
Where did the exemption come from and who gave such a big exemption? In 2021, the Azad Kashmir government abolished the exemption from income tax, however, the 18 percent sales tax is still in effect. To see the sales tax levied at the import level, an ID is issued to the Commissioner Inland Revenue Mirpur, which the Commissioner Inland Revenue will create for the Customs Department and then logs in to the software “We BOC” and issues a tax exemption certificate.
According to the records of excise toll posts, such a large quantity of edible oil was not brought into the limits of Azad Kashmir, nor was this oil sold in the market in the finished form after processing. Interestingly, these factories established in Mirpur division do not have the capacity to process such a large quantity of oil. Who issued the last tax exemption certificate? According to the available records, Sardar Zafar Mahmood Khan was the Commissioner of Indirect Taxes, Inland Revenue from September 4, 2018 to October 8, 2018, he performed the duties of the Commissioner of Direct Taxes, Inland Revenue from October 10, 2018 to October 4, 2022, and from March 15, 2023 to September 9, 2023, he was the Commissioner of Inland Revenue, South Zone.
Chaudhry Asim Shaukat served as Commissioner Inland Revenue, Direct Taxes from October 9, 2018 to August 5, 2022 and as Commissioner Inland Revenue, Direct Taxes from August 5, 2022 to March 14, 2023. Bilal Siddiqui served as Commissioner Inland Revenue, Direct Taxes from August 5, 2022 to October 3, 2022. Adnan Inamullah served as Commissioner Inland Revenue, Direct Taxes from June 22, 2017 to October 10, 2018.
From September 9, 2023 to February 26, 2024, Dr. Shazia and from February 26, 2024 to November 1, 2024, Ishtiaq Ahmed held the post of Commissioner Inland Revenue South Zone and Syed Ansar Ali is the Commissioner Inland Revenue South Zone. During this period, Rs 18 billion worth of leaves were imported in the name of Azad Kashmir, of which 18% sales tax is Rs 3.24 billion. Apparently, an inquiry was also being conducted in this regard, on which the concerned Commissioner Inland Revenue has taken a stay order.
This is a short story of corruption worth Rs 23 billion. Top officers of influential families were claiming daily wages of Rs 250 million. Plazas, marts, business partnerships and housing societies in the UK are yet to be revealed. These companies not only caused huge losses to the national exchequer through collusion, but also earned billions of rupees by selling cheap oil and leaves brought in the name of Azad Kashmir outside the country. Whose pockets did it go into and whose accounts were filled? This is a short story of this character worth billions of rupees in which the public and the national exchequer were cheated. If an inquiry is conducted and big crocodiles are caught, everything will come to light.
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