On Tuesday, Azad Kashmir police broke down a network of unscrupulous elements selling counterfeit cigarettes on the market, causing the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to lose millions of income due to tax and duty evasion.
On a tip-off, police raided different areas and markets in the city of Muzaffarabad and confiscated a large quantity of counterfeit cigarettes sold to individuals with fake trademarks of various tobacco companies.
After a report from a global cigarette production firm, the police jumped into action and lodged a criminal case to further investigate the matter.
The international cigarette manufacturing company’s business development manager told the police that by selling illegal cigarettes with false trademarks on the market, criminals and fraudsters were harming the company’s reputation.
He told the police that by selling counterfeit tobacco, the fraudsters not only played with the health of the people but also caused a huge loss to the FBR by not paying sales tax, income tax, and excise duty.
The police reported the case and began further investigation, the FIR concluded.
Meanwhile, without the official no-objection certificate, the local businessmen said that the illegal production of cigarettes was in full swing in the region, while the government had yet to initiate action against it.
Outside the AJK legislative assembly, they vowed to observe a hunger strike unless strict legal action was taken against producers and sellers of counterfeit cigarettes.
At the same time, many locals and local notables have already approached the government of Azad Kashmir to investigate the affairs of that area’s Wayward Tobacco Company Limited.