The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has uncovered evidence of tax evasion of around Tk9 crore through a special operation conducted at the factory of United Tobacco Industries Limited located in Ishwardi Upazila of Pabna District.
This information was confirmed in a press release sent to the media on Thursday.
The release stated that, to prevent illegal production, marketing, and tax evasion of tobacco and tobacco products, the NBR has recently further strengthened its preventative measures.
As part of these recent measures, a team from the VAT Intelligence and Investigation Directorate of the NBR conducted a special operation at the factory of United Tobacco Industries located in Ishwardi, based on a tip.
Observation by the intelligence team revealed that, although the company had obtained VAT registration, it had not been showing formal production activities for a long time and had been evading a significant amount of tax by secretly producing and selling cigarettes.
During the operation, 634,590 sticks of cigarettes with counterfeit banderoles were seized, with a market value of over Tk38 lakh.
Specific evidence was found regarding the evasion of about Tk29 lakh owed to the government for these cigarettes. Additionally, 1,029,000 pieces of unused counterfeit banderoles and stamps were recovered, the use of which could have resulted in evading over Tk8.5 crore more in taxes.
Although the company had procured 322,500 pieces of legitimate banderoles, instead of using them, it was producing and selling cigarettes using counterfeit banderoles.
All seized cigarettes and materials have been lawfully seized, and necessary legal proceedings against the company have already been initiated, the press release stated.
A comprehensive report will soon be submitted based on the documents recovered during the operation. Simultaneously, instructions will be given to the concerned VAT Commissionerate to maintain strict surveillance over the production and sales activities of the company.
To ensure the protection of national revenue, the NBR will continue to take stricter and consistent measures in the future to prevent illegal production of tobacco products, use of counterfeit banderoles, and tax evasion, the press release added.
