Cigarette dealers evade VAT

Distributors of cigarettes are digging a deep hole into the state exchequer by way of evasion of taxes. Stung by the recent findings of the vigilance and enforcement (V&E) wing, the state government has asked the commercial taxes department to tighten the noose on the wholesale distributors across the state.

As per preliminary investigations, the wholesale dealers have been evading payment of value addition tax (VAT) to the tune of nearly Rs 300 crore annually. Sources said the V&E department came across this development after carrying out surprise checks on the distributors in several districts last month following complaints about fudging of records.

You smoke cigarettes? Than buy cheap cigarettes online from cigarettesmall.net

While the manufacturers were paying tax at their end after selling the stocks to the distributors, the latter were not paying the taxes despite making huge sums after selling the stocks to the retailers. The distributors have another tier of dealers before the stocks reach the retailer in the guise of salesmen and were not showing these sales figures in the original transaction records.