DRI files a case to recover Rs 65.21 million from a fake VAT receipt user

KATHMANDU, Jan 19: Continuing its drive to curb firms making rampant use of fake receipts of Value Added Tax (VAT) to evade government revenue, the Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) on Sunday filed a case against a firm’s proprietor at Patan High Court.

According to the DRI, Amiri Thakur, proprietor of Sulav Trade Concern was found issuing fake receipts for the goods that were not actually procured. The department has sought to recover Rs 65.21 million from the accused. In the scam, Thakur has been accused of evading income tax of Rs 43.62 million and VAT amount of Rs 21.58 million.

Last August, the DRI uncovered 200 firms that had been selling fake VAT receipts worth around Rs 15 billion to 1,100 different firms. The purchasers of such receipts, in turn have been found submitting tax details to the government authority claiming that they paid VAT for procuring goods. But, in fact, the purchasers of fake VAT receipts do not purchase any goods.

DRI investigations have revealed that the racketeers who sold the fake VAT receipts have been found to have registered the firms in the name of poor and ignorant people from the rural areas, so that they could legally come out from any legal obligation if indicted.