Karachi, Pakistan – The Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation (IR) in Karachi has made a significant breakthrough by apprehending four individuals involved in a complex inter-province fake sales tax invoice racket. This scam has reportedly caused a staggering loss of Rs. 11.692 billion to the national exchequer.
In a recent criminal case registered in the Court of Special Judge Custom & Taxation Karachi, the IR Intelligence team acted swiftly, leading to the arrest of the first accused in Faisalabad. This individual was caught filing fake sales tax returns on behalf of various dummy firms from the comfort of his own home.
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The second accused, linked to the fraudulent scheme, was arrested at the PRAL Call Centre in Islamabad. While serving as a facilitation officer at PRAL, this individual was found complicit in providing user IDs and passwords of inactive sales tax registered units to agents of the fake invoice mafia in exchange for financial gain. During the investigation, officers seized Rs. 1,600 million worth of counterfeit output tax data from the accused official’s PRAL computer.
This data was allegedly prepared for supply to a member of the mafia through the Federal Board of Revenue’s e-filing system (IRIS) but was intercepted due to the timely I&I raid. Subsequently, another mafia agent/broker, hailing from Karachi, was apprehended in the vicinity of Maree/Islamabad with the assistance of another intelligence agency, based on information provided by the second accused.
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The fourth accused in this elaborate operation was taken into custody once again in Faisalabad. This individual, a former employee of PRAL Faisalabad who was dismissed from service in 2014 due to misconduct, later pursued a career as an advocate and currently holds membership in the District Bar, Faisalabad.
Remarkably, all four suspects maintained contact through mobile and WhatsApp communications, frequently sharing fake input and output tax data in Excel sheets to facilitate the illicit trade within the supply chain.
Following their investigation and completion of physical remand in I&I custody, all four accused individuals are now in judicial custody at the central prison in Karachi. Sources closely associated with the anti-fraud wing of inland revenue at the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) have confirmed that this marks the first time an entire gang has been dismantled by the Directorate of I&I-IR Karachi.
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Authorities have expressed a strong commitment to eradicating the menace of fake and flying invoices that have cost the nation billions of rupees. Their focus has now shifted to other stakeholders and partners within the supply chain implicated in the scam, who have allegedly claimed illegal input tax against bogus invoices.
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The department has pledged to adhere strictly to the guidelines set by apex courts in various judgments regarding the recovery of evaded tax amounts and the prosecution of beneficiaries and partners involved in such supply chain scams. With the court issuing arrest warrants for numerous accused individuals reportedly evading capture, authorities remain determined to apprehend all fraudsters as part of the ongoing national drive against fraud and smuggling, collaborating closely with other law enforcement and intelligence agencies.
