Tax evasion racket: Punjab Vigilance Bureau books 12 excise officials, four others

VB said that “officials of the Excise and Taxation Department in connivance with private transporters were hand in glove to get bribes and government exchequer was being duped”.

The Bureau said that investigations revealed that “costly cigarettes of foreign brands were also transported in the guise of bills which showed the consignments as cosmetic products.”

As per VB, Muktsar ETO Varun Nagpal, Faridkot ETO Satpal Multani, Shambhu (Mobile Wing) ETO Kali Charan, Amritsar ETO Jap Simran Singh, Ram Kumar, Inspector, Jalandhar and Shiv Kumar (Munshi) of Somnath Transport were among the culprits who were arrested Friday in these two cases.

In the first case, Deputy Excise and Taxation Commissioner Simran Brar, Fazilka ETO Ved Prakash Jakhar, Faridkot ETO Satpal Multani, Mobile Wing, Chandigarh, ETO at Shambhu Kali Charan, Muktsar ETO Varun Nagpal, Fazilka ETO Ravinandan, Moga ETO Piyara Singh and Vijay Kumar Prashar, resident of Adarsh Colony, Khanna were allegedly found involved in the irregularities committed.

In the second case, as per VB, “Amritsar ETO Sushil Kumar (now posted at Patiala), ETOs Dinesh Gaud and Jap Simran Singh posted at Amritsar, Amritsar Mobile Wing ETO Lakhbeer Singh, Ram Kumar Inspector, and Shiv Kumar (Munshi) and Pawan Kumar of Somnath Transport, Phagwara, were involved”.

Revealing the modus operandi ,the VB said the Bureau had received information that “Vijay Kumar, of Khanna, was doing transport business in Ludhiana and Khanna cities. He in connivance with officials of Excise and Taxation Department was transporting goods of various traders from other states to Punjab and sent them out of Punjab by paying less or no tax. Vijay Kumar also prepared fake bills for tax evasion which were usually ignored by the officials of the department during the checking and in return officials got large sums of money.