MIRPUR [AJK]:Commissioner Inland Revenue Department AJK Sardar Zaffar Mahmood Khan categorically denied the news reports appearing in a section of the press and social media regarding tax refunds to certain elements.
When contacted, Zaffar told reporter on Monday that no tax refund was issued to any company after 2018 – since the AJ&K government had imposed a ban on the refund of tax in June 2018 which, he added, was lifted in 2022.
“Legal notices are being sent to those involved in the malicious propaganda campaign against the IRD to damage the good reputation of the department whose overall annual performance of the collection of the levies and other functions have always been described by the government as splendid since its inception”, he declared while responding to a question.
Sardar Zafar Mahmood Khan continued by saying that despite the withdrawal of the notification imposing the ban on the issuance of the refund, he didn’t issue any refund to any company after 2018.
He observed that in fact the ongoing malicious campaign against the department has been launched by an internal quarter within the Inland Revenue Department, which was recently removed from office based on solid evidence of the alleged corruption, malpractices, and irregularities against him, he asserted.
“It will be worthwhile to mention here that a departmental inquiry is being initiated against the concerned official who has so far been made OSD”, he pointed out.
To a question, Sardar Zaffar Mahmood Khan stated that the Department of Inland Revenue had already rejected tax refund claims of three companies, namely, Sachel, Khyber Grace and M.A Engineering.
“The ongoing move of dissemination of baseless stories and propaganda on social and a section of the print media is an abortive attempt to divert the attention of the alleged corruption on the part of the internal quarter of the Inland Revenue department”, the IRD Commissioner said.