Open VAT Check Posts at Railway Stations

Ferozepur, September 15, 2012 :  The Excise and Taxation Department, Ferozepur today seized ten bundles of goods valuing lakhs of rupees from the railway station which have been dispatched from Delhi to Ferozepur without any booking.

Giving the details, Inderjit Singh Sandhu, Excise and Taxation Officer said, on Thursday, on getting a tip off that some local businessmen are bringing the goods without any bill and paying VAT, he alongwith his team members, Inspector Gurbaksh Singh and Dev Raj, Tax Assisant, chased the Innova car at about 10.30 pm which managed to escape by dodging the excise officials by another car while overtaking, who followed through the city and on Fazilka main road after folowing for about 70 KMs.

About ten such bundles were taken into possession by the Excise Department valuing lakhs of rupees without any resistance from the railway station and in case there is no claimant for the goods confiscated, the same is auctioned in open, Sandhu added.

On asking the railway authorities, they refused to comment anything for dispatch of goods without any booking.

Talking to the media, he disclosed that railway in connivance with the business dispatch the goods from Delhi to Ferozepur with coded word as “SS” and are released by paying the payment to the railway officials thus putting the railways to a great loss. He further said that this network is working in whole of the Punjab and government is being denied of the revenue because of non-billing and deposit of tax with the government.

Sandhu said that the government should open VAT check post at all the major railway stations like that already working at Jalandar, Ludhiana and Amritsar . With these arrangements, the theft of VAT and booking of goods by the railways without any proper documents would be under check besides increase in collection of revenue.