The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has uncovered a massive financial scandal in Islamabad, exposing a Rs 16 billion fraud related to the illegal import of solar panels. A private company stands accused of involvement in illegal imports totaling Rs 1.62 billion, with an additional Rs 16 billion linked to illegal solar panel imports for 11 different companies.
The imported goods were intended for companies with a total financial position of less than Rs 4 million, rendering them ineligible for bank transactions for importing such items. In an attempt to evade detection, data for the 11 companies involved was systematically erased after suspicious imports.
This revelation follows a previous case that exposed over Rs 69.5 billion in over-invoicing related to solar panel imports between 2017 and 2022. The FBR report underscores a clear pattern of over-invoicing on 6,232 Goods Declarations from 63 importers, involving the transfer of Rs 72 billion from two private companies, with solar panels worth Rs 45 billion imported.
FBR Chairman briefed the Senate standing committee on finance about the extensive over-invoicing, highlighting that commercial banks violated financial monitoring unit rules in the transfer. Consequently, an FIR has been registered against those involved, underscoring the gravity of the financial malpractice.
Also, see:
Pakistan Railways generate record earnings in 6 months
