KARACHI, Sindh: Tax authorities sealed an alleged illegal cigarette factory in Karachi after an intelligence-based raid. The raid recovered machinery worth about Rs200 million and 700kg of raw tobacco.
The Regional Tax Office-II (RTO-II) Karachi said its Inland Revenue Enforcement Squad conducted the operation under the Inland Revenue Enforcement Network (IREN). The operation took place at a facility on the outskirts of Malir.
Officials seized cigarette-manufacturing and packing equipment, including filter and token machines, heavy-duty generators and other production machinery.
A preliminary assessment by enforcement authorities estimated that the facility could produce around 700,000 cigarette sticks per day. This is equivalent to roughly 200 million sticks annually.
Based on the assessed production capacity, officials estimated that the alleged illicit operation could have caused approximately Rs1.2 billion in annual government tax revenue losses.
The authorities also recovered about 700kg of raw tobacco from the premises during the operation.
RTO-II Karachi said that criminal proceedings were initiated after the raid. Authorities registered a first information report against the persons allegedly involved.
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The case was placed before the Special Judge (Customs & Taxation), Karachi, according to the tax authorities.
RTO-II said enforcement operations against illegal cigarette manufacturing, illicit tobacco trade and tax evasion would continue. These actions are part of efforts to protect government revenue and enforce applicable tax laws.
