Tazeen Akhtar
As we say most often , Pakistan is a unique country in the whole world where anything anytime in anyway may happen. Now comes another story of the same type. It is from Federal Board of Revenue FBR. Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue Mr. Afaque Ahmad Qureshi is the main character in this interesting story who has been demoted as OSD on Billions of Rupees scam in taxation on Sugar factories.
Afaque has been serving on different positions in FBR including the spokesperson for a while as well. He was the officer who developed a system to track the input and output of the sugar factories to bring them into tax network properly. Thanks to this system the FBR took decisive steps to counter tax evasion within the sugar industry, by deploying monitoring teams to sugar mills across the country.
The system was imposed only few months ago in Nov 2023. Sugar, identified as a notified product, was subjected to rigorous monitoring, covering production, sales, clearances, stocks, and related activities. The FBR made it mandatory to affix tax stamps on every bag of sugar produced or supplied.
Under the enforcement provision of the sales tax law, the FBR or chief commissioner has the authority to assign an officer of Inland Revenue to the premises of a registered person or a class of such persons to monitor production, sales of taxable goods, and stock positions. The initiative aimed to ensure compliance with tax regulations and enhance transparency within the sugar industry.
Finance with Force to Save Pakistan -Power of Interior Should be Used against the Defaulters not PTI – by Tazeen Akhtar
Soon after the introduction of this new system evolved by Mr. Afaque , his nomination for high civil award on coming Pakistan Day, 23 March 2024 was also initiated and finally he was selected for the award that was conferred on the said date.
Afaque was receiving congratulations from all around while the Sugar industry had also started their work on the creator of the system that left no other way for the industry but to pay tax as per their production.
What Afaque missed was the Bitter reality of the Sweet industry. This is not actually the industry but it is the Mafia that is the strongest among all. Sugar industry is called the Ruling industry in Pakistan. All big politicians are the owners of sugar mills. They are in all political parties. They include heads of the political parties and their main stalwarts, second line leadership as well. They are always present in the assemblies and the governments. How it was possible that they spare a person who fixed them first time in the history.
Afaque has been demoted on the charges of irregularities. Details are still awaited how it was managed by the sugar mafia. But one thing is confirm that no one else can do this to an officer who has been rewarded only a month ago. This is the work of powerful circles, cartels we should call.
