DRI to collect Rs 2.56bn from IC misuse scam

KATHMANDU: 

Department of Revenue Investigation (DRI) has estimated a total collection of Rs 2.56 billion — including tax and fine — from Indian Currency misappropriation scam.

The department today completed its primary entry of all fake customs declaration forms and estimated that they had misappropriated IRs 800 million through fake customs declaration forms, director at the department Mohan Bahadur Chand said.

The actual revenue collection could be double since the department will charge fine equal to fraud amount to the firms and enterprises, he informed.

The amount includes all the fake transaction of fake customs declaration forms made by eight firms, he said, adding that they have found eight firms — Laxmi Traders, Rehant Traders and Mahalaxmi Enterprises, Shyam Galla Store, GS Traders, Maxwell Computers, Digital World and Jay Mata Di International — involved in the fake customs declaration form scam.

The issue of fake customs declaration forms had come into the light after police on August 29 nabbed five persons with fake customs declaration forms from Birgunj.

They were trying to get more than Rs 7.52 million transferred to India on the basis of the counterfeit documents. Following the arrest, police had frozen the account that they had in the bank.

The department has also discovered a sheer negligence from the part of banks in fake customs declaration form scam since they have released the Indian Currency without filling foreign currency exchange forms according to Nepal Rastra Bank’s rule.

After fake VAT scam, the illegal money transfer Hundi and IC misappropriation have hurt the revenue mobilisation.

Due to increasing informal economy on the bordering towns and fake VAT scam, the government is going to not meet the the current fiscal year’s revenue mobilisation target too.

Last fiscal year too, the government has failed to meet the revenue mobilisation target by above Rs 6 billion due to various scams.

Source: THT