A revenue intelligence team has unearthed concealment of sales information worth Tk 2.65 billion and VAT (value added tax) evasion worth Tk 800 million by Mr Baker Cake and Pastry Shop Limited.
The VAT intelligence wing on Sunday filed a case against the baker.
In a statement, the VAT Audit, Intelligence and Investigation Directorate said the company has concealed the actual sales information to evade consumption tax.
On October 20, a team of the intelligence wing conducted a raid in the factory cum head office of Mr Baker located on 160/485, Mokadam Ali road, Dhour in Turag.
VAT registration number of the company is: 000964682-0102. It is registered in the Dhaka North VAT zone.
Mr Baker has 29 outlets in the capital through which it sells products. During the raid, the VAT team found the company was operating business without maintaining proper accounts.
Later, the VAT intelligence team searched their two bank accounts in Tongi for the sake of investigation.
After analysing their financial report, the VAT team has found a detailed picture of business activity of Mr Baker.
Deputy director of VAT intelligence Nazmun Nahar Kaisar and Ferdousi Mahbub led the raid in the company.
The VAT team launched the drive on the basis of an allegation raised by retired senior secretary Asif Jaman on his Facebook page and also some secret information. On October 18, he alleged that Mr Baker located in Uttara, sector 3, Road-4 has not issued invoice/chalan.
He drew the attention of NBR chairman, saying consumers' tax is not being deposited to the public exchequer.
Following instruction from the NBR chairman, the VAT team carried out the drive.
In the sudden raid, the team found the company was not maintaining purchase account book VAT-6.1 and sales account book VAT 6.2, which are mandatory for a manufacturing entity as per the VAT law.
The owners of the company failed to show VAT-related other documents to the team.
They do not even maintain their commercial documents on their office premises. For this, the team suspected the company has been submitting VAT returns in the local VAT circle on the basis of false and imaginary accounts information.
Furthermore, the company could not show the VAT-6.5 invoices of the products that they supplied from the factory just a day before the raid.
The VAT officials found that the company as a centrally-registered entity is not complying with the rules to supply products from factory to outlets through VAT-6.5 chalan.
It has not deposited VAT to the public exchequer after collecting from consumers, the statement said.
During the raid, the intelligence team searched different floors and workers' rooms at the rooftop of the factory premises and found some old documents. It has seized those documents.
The team detected VAT evasion worth Tk 346 million on the basis of sales from July 2014 to June 2019. The monthly interest at a rate of 2.0 per cent worth Tk 253 million is applicable to the VAT due to non-compliance.
From September 2019 to September 2020, the company evaded Tk 1.7 million VAT at source on the purchase of raw materials. An amount of Tk 34,679 as monthly interest is applicable to the VAT.
From July 2014 to June 2019, the company has evaded Tk 15 million VAT on rent of spaces and additional Tk 9.8 million is applicable as interest.
From July 2014 to June 2019, the company has evaded at source VAT worth Tk 100 million and Tk 72 million will be applicable as interest.
The VAT team detected the evasion of Tk 800 million as unpaid VAT and at source VAT including 2.0 per cent monthly interest.
According to the VAT law, a case has been filed for the concealment of sales information and evasion of VAT at source by the company.
Mr Baker has another business of sweets and has also some five outlets in the capital.
The VAT intelligence team is also conducting investigation against the sweets business of the company.
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