VAT probe finds 50 lakh fake-banderol cigarettes being destroyed.
Burnt fake cigarettes. Photo: Courtesy.
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Burnt fake cigarettes. Photo: Courtesy.
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has found evidence of more than Tk72 crore in alleged revenue evasion at a Gazipur tobacco factory after VAT intelligence investigators discovered around 50 lakh cigarettes bearing fake banderols being destroyed.
The incident occurred on 2 September at Virgo Tobacco Limited in Gazipur, according to an NBR press release issued today (16 September).
A VAT intelligence team arrived at the factory and found production underway, but the main gate was locked from outside despite repeated requests to open it. The investigators eventually climbed over the boundary wall to enter the premises, the NBR said.
VAT intelligence investigators at Virgo Tobacco Limited in Gazipur. Photo: Courtesy.
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VAT intelligence investigators at Virgo Tobacco Limited in Gazipur. Photo: Courtesy.
Inside, they found cigarette production in progress and noticed smoke coming from the factory. They subsequently discovered used banderols and cigarettes bearing fake banderols being burned.
The company failed to produce any documents authorising the destruction or approval from the relevant VAT department, according to the NBR.
In a written statement, the factory’s general manager acknowledged that around 50 lakh cigarettes carrying fake banderols had been burned.
Investigators collected the remaining fragments of the burnt banderols as evidence.
The investigators later searched the factory, an adjacent warehouse and a residential building, seizing used stamps and banderols, cigarette-making raw materials and three mobile phones, the NBR said.
They also found samples and empty packets of several foreign cigarette brands.
The VAT intelligence unit’s IT and cyber-forensics team subsequently examined the seized phones and found chat histories, confidential sales messages and photographs of accounts.
According to the NBR, the information suggested that a significant portion of the factory’s cigarette production had been supplied to the market without VAT invoices, with the sales concealed from the company’s primary books.
The VAT intelligence authorities estimated that more than Tk72 crore in revenue had been evaded through the use of fake and previously used banderols, concealed sales and other irregularities.
TBS could not reach Virgo Tobacco Limited for comment. The company does not list a phone number on its website, while emails sent to two addresses did not receive an immediate response.
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