By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) failed to produce data demanded by a Senate sub-committee on tobacco taxation on Monday, prompting lawmakers to order a 20-year accounting of the industry’s tax payments, factory registrations and outstanding dues that officials say could total billions of rupees.
The Sub-Committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics, chaired by Senator Saifullah Abro, asked the FBR’s Chief of Sales Tax, Javed Iqbal Tarar, to leave the session after he again failed to deliver figures the panel had previously requested, according to lawmakers present at the hearing.
Senators Mohammad Talha Mahmood, Dilawar Khan and Hidayat Ullah Khan also attended the session, which exposed sharp discrepancies in tobacco tax accounting. Pakistani customs authorities had earlier reported tobacco-related tax revenue of 75 billion rupees, but subsequent committee deliberations indicated roughly 40 billion rupees of that sum remained uncollected.
The committee ordered the FBR to submit documentary evidence of outstanding tax liabilities, a complete roster of tobacco companies and their brands operating in the country, details of imported raw materials used in production, and comprehensive revenue figures spanning the past 20 years. Lawmakers also demanded records of every tobacco factory registered in Pakistan over that period.
Officials told the panel that Pakistan Tobacco Company, a unit of British American Tobacco, and Philip Morris Pakistan ranked among the sector’s largest taxpayers. The committee was also informed that paramilitary Rangers forces had been deployed to support FBR efforts to curb tax evasion in the tobacco trade, underscoring the scale of enforcement concerns.
In a separate briefing, the Press Information Department told the committee that government media awareness campaigns, including messaging on illegal cigarette sales commissioned by the FBR, had been broadcast across 92 television channels, with costs covered by the ministries that sponsored each campaign. Abro directed the department to submit complete records of all media contracts, campaign expenditures and agreements with broadcasters, noting that it continued to operate without a centralized tracking system.
The committee separately directed Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency to investigate a corruption case linked to Badshah Wazir, focusing on allegations that raw materials imported for tax-exempt zones never reached their intended destinations. Wazir was sentenced to life imprisonment in April after authorities said he attempted to smuggle 360 kilograms of heroin concealed in sanitation pipes inside a shipping container bound for the United Kingdom.
On narcotics enforcement more broadly, the committee was told that Pakistan’s Anti-Narcotics Force accounted for approximately 49% of the country’s total drug seizures last year. Officials said drug use patterns were shifting away from plant-based narcotics toward synthetic and chemical substances, and the panel discussed using confiscated drugs for pharmaceutical or research purposes within existing legal frameworks rather than destroying them, as a potential revenue source.
Karachi’s South Deputy Inspector General of Police told the committee that more than 105,000 narcotics cases had been registered and approximately 127,000 suspects arrested in the city between 2013 and 2026.
The panel also revisited the high-profile case of Anmol, known by the alias “Pinky,” a suspect in a drug trafficking investigation. Abro raised concerns over conflicting accounts of her arrest and questioned the extensive police escort accompanying her during court appearances, directing law enforcement agencies to investigate possible links to influential individuals. Officials said 28 criminal cases had been filed against her, 35 delivery riders connected to her alleged network had been arrested, and that Nigerian nationals residing in Lahore’s Nishtar Colony were allegedly involved in the operation.
Abro summoned the provincial police chiefs of Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan to appear before the committee at its next session and directed all relevant departments to submit requested information in advance of that meeting.By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) failed to produce data demanded by a Senate sub-committee on tobacco taxation on Monday, prompting lawmakers to order a 20-year accounting of the industry’s tax payments, factory registrations and outstanding dues that officials say could total billions of rupees.
The Sub-Committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics, chaired by Senator Saifullah Abro, asked the FBR’s Chief of Sales Tax, Javed Iqbal Tarar, to leave the session after he again failed to deliver figures the panel had previously requested, according to lawmakers present at the hearing.
Senators Mohammad Talha Mahmood, Dilawar Khan and Hidayat Ullah Khan also attended the session, which exposed sharp discrepancies in tobacco tax accounting. Pakistani customs authorities had earlier reported tobacco-related tax revenue of 75 billion rupees, but subsequent committee deliberations indicated roughly 40 billion rupees of that sum remained uncollected.
The committee ordered the FBR to submit documentary evidence of outstanding tax liabilities, a complete roster of tobacco companies and their brands operating in the country, details of imported raw materials used in production, and comprehensive revenue figures spanning the past 20 years. Lawmakers also demanded records of every tobacco factory registered in Pakistan over that period.
Officials told the panel that Pakistan Tobacco Company, a unit of British American Tobacco, and Philip Morris Pakistan ranked among the sector’s largest taxpayers. The committee was also informed that paramilitary Rangers forces had been deployed to support FBR efforts to curb tax evasion in the tobacco trade, underscoring the scale of enforcement concerns.
In a separate briefing, the Press Information Department told the committee that government media awareness campaigns, including messaging on illegal cigarette sales commissioned by the FBR, had been broadcast across 92 television channels, with costs covered by the ministries that sponsored each campaign. Abro directed the department to submit complete records of all media contracts, campaign expenditures and agreements with broadcasters, noting that it continued to operate without a centralized tracking system.
The committee separately directed Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency to investigate a corruption case linked to Badshah Wazir, focusing on allegations that raw materials imported for tax-exempt zones never reached their intended destinations. Wazir was sentenced to life imprisonment in April after authorities said he attempted to smuggle 360 kilograms of heroin concealed in sanitation pipes inside a shipping container bound for the United Kingdom.
On narcotics enforcement more broadly, the committee was told that Pakistan’s Anti-Narcotics Force accounted for approximately 49% of the country’s total drug seizures last year. Officials said drug use patterns were shifting away from plant-based narcotics toward synthetic and chemical substances, and the panel discussed using confiscated drugs for pharmaceutical or research purposes within existing legal frameworks rather than destroying them, as a potential revenue source.
Karachi’s South Deputy Inspector General of Police told the committee that more than 105,000 narcotics cases had been registered and approximately 127,000 suspects arrested in the city between 2013 and 2026.
The panel also revisited the high-profile case of Anmol, known by the alias “Pinky,” a suspect in a drug trafficking investigation. Abro raised concerns over conflicting accounts of her arrest and questioned the extensive police escort accompanying her during court appearances, directing law enforcement agencies to investigate possible links to influential individuals. Officials said 28 criminal cases had been filed against her, 35 delivery riders connected to her alleged network had been arrested, and that Nigerian nationals residing in Lahore’s Nishtar Colony were allegedly involved in the operation.
Abro summoned the provincial police chiefs of Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan to appear before the committee at its next session and directed all relevant departments to submit requested information in advance of that meeting.
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