Tag: Excise

  • ACE unearths mega corruption scam in excise department

    ACE unearths mega corruption scam in excise department

    According to media reports, Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) has unearthed multi-billion scam pertaining to vehicle registration.

    Reportedly, many vehicles were registered through a fake auction in the name of a government department in Punjab.

    In a letter to ACE, the department confirmed that it had never auctioned these vehicles and the vouchers used for auction were fake.

    A group of excise and taxation bureaucrats are responsible for registering these vehicles through fake action vouchers and caused losses of billions of rupees to the provincial economy.

    The report added that the ACE acquired the data of the bank transactions from the beneficiaries of the auctions that show money transfers worth millions of rupees.

    Earlier, in December 2020, a corruption scandal of the same nature was unearthed by ACE. Used, smuggled and stolen vehicles were auctioned on the basis of fake army action vouchers for several years by a gang, comprising officials of Punjab excise and taxation department and private person.

    The anti-graft watchdog started the investigation in 2017. They revealed that as many as 7,013 vehicles were dubious, with 4,000 of them being registered on the basis of fake vouchers. Moreover, they were unable to verify other vehicles in records. This has caused a total loss of Rs 300 billion to the exchequer directly or indirectly.

  • Punjab gets its most expensive vehicle ever; Rs45 lacs paid as registration alone

    Punjab gets its most expensive vehicle ever; Rs45 lacs paid as registration alone

    The Punjab Excise and Taxation (E&T) Department in Lahore has registered the most expensive luxury car in its history, The Express Tribune reported.

    As per the details, the car, a Lamborghini Huracan Spyder worth a whopping Rs115 million (Rs11 crores and 50 lacs), was registered for Rs4.5 million (Rs45 lacs).

    Initially, the provincial department had refused to register the luxury vehicle, saying that its system did not recognise car purchases of over Rs100 million (Rs10 crores).

    However, the department then upgraded its system and amended relevant laws to be able to register the sports car.

    “Lamborghini Huracan Spyder comes with 5.2L engine, and it is famous for its unique exterior. The car has specially designed wings at the front so that it can reach its maximum speed easily. This is the reason this car has an aerodynamic smaller front and a bit wider back. Furthermore, it has parking sensors and air intake vents at the front,” according to the supercar’s review on PakWheels.com.

    Before Huracan Spyder, the most expensive car registered in Punjab was of Mercedes GT Series. The price of that car was nearly Rs100 million. The excise department charged Rs3.5million as a registration fee of that vehicle, according to media reports.

    In September 2018, an 18k gold foil Lamborghini Aventador S had arrived in Islamabad, which quickly became the talk of the town when the owner Kunwar Moeez Khan, a property tycoon, shared its photos on social media.

  • NAB summons Buzdar for ‘issuing illegal liquor licences’

    NAB summons Buzdar for ‘issuing illegal liquor licences’

    The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has summoned Punjab Chief Minister (CM) Usman Buzdar on August 12 for what it says was illegal issuance of liquor licences.

    The anti-graft watchdog has accused the provincial chief executive of illegally using powers of Excise director general (DG) and issuing liquor permits to a private hotel in Lahore.

    The hotel in question is the same as the one in regard to which reports had falsely claimed that a local company was setting up a “liquor bar” at the Allama Iqbal International Airport after approval from the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) led Punjab government.

    “A section of local media wrongly reported that the provincial government has granted a license to a company to sell liquor at the airport,” then spokesperson to the CM, Dr Shahbaz Gill, had said in a video message in January last year.

    He had further said that an under-construction five-star hotel near the airport had sought permission, which was duly granted after all the legal requirements were fulfilled.

    “This is not something new and all the major hotels in the country are permitted under the laws,” Gill said.

    However, the issuance has reportedly landed the Punjab CM in hot water.

    Earlier, on May 24, in view of the threat of sale of poisonous liquor on the occasion of Eidul Fitr, Punjab Excise and Taxation DG Hafiz Ziaul Mustafa issued a letter to stop the sale of illegal liquor and take necessary steps, The Express Tribune reported.

    Some unscrupulous elements use clinical alcohol, sedative tablets and juices of rotten fruits to brew liquor which is then sold in bottles of local and foreign brands. In the past scores of people have died and many more have gone blind from this locally brewed concoction.

    The DG also directed to pay special attention to liquor license holders on the occasion of Eid. A letter issued from the office of the DG said that several people have been affected by drinking toxic liquor in recent years which has embarrassed the government.

    Bootleggers making this toxic moonshine were likely to bring out their product on the festive occasion of Eid to grab the merriment mood of poor people who could not afford a pint of legally sold liquor available from licenced excise shops.