ISLAMABAD (November 21 2002) : The Central Board of Revenue (CBR) and Pakistan Sugar Mills Association (PSMA) have agreed to take stern legal action against the habitual defaulters and tax evaders before Eid-ul-Fitr, official sources told Business Recorder on Wednesday.
The tax authorities have decided to launch this massive crackdown against the sugar mills after PSMA assured Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz that the association would fully support legal proceedings against tax evaders and habitual defaulters.
These sugar mills have been allegedly involved in violation of Sales Tax Act, 1990 during the past few years avoiding payment of sales tax liabilities, causing huge loss to the national kitty.
The CBR has given green signal to all collectors of sales tax to initiate countrywide onslaught against habitual defaulters and dodgers on the basis of tax data provided by PSMA to the respective collectorates.
PSMA has also agreed to provide detailed information to the tax authorities pertaining to sales tax payments made by each sugar mill. This would help in ascertaining whether the sugar mills have correctly declared production of sugar, value of supplies and input tax claimed. The particular information would be instrumental in detecting the magnitude of tax evaded by habitual defaulters.
The CBR has asked the collectors to microscopically scan the sales tax liabilities of sugar mills as on November 1, 2002 and also examine the efforts made for the recovery of sales tax dues.
Meanwhile, Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet has constituted a committee on the issue of deferment of sales tax on the summary (sugar industry situation) moved by Ministry of Industries and Production.
However, on the contrary, CBR has issued orders to the collectors to forthwith initiate necessary action against the units for prompt recovery of short paid/arrears of sales tax as the department was not in agreement on the issue of deferment of sales tax.
Under the procedure for recovery of deferred sales tax, the collectors would hold meetings with the representatives of sugar mills which defaulted for the first time to work out the schedule for recovery of arrears before December 31, 2002 without any waiver of additional tax, further tax and penalties.
The collectors were all set to take desired legal action against the units, which are habitual defaulters, instructions added.
