Fulkoli charged for not payingTk26 cr in VAT
An investigation by the Chittagong Customs, Excise and VAT Commissionerate, has found the company avoided paying VAT at three of its factories
A case has been filed against sweets and bakery products supplier Fulkoli for evading VAT worth Tk26 crore by concealing sales information.
An investigation by the Chittagong Customs, Excise and VAT Commissionerate, has found the company avoided paying VAT at three of its factories.
A demand notice has been filed against the company for not paying their appropriate and full VAT dues adequately. This, following a review of documents of purchase, production, and supply of products revealing that Fulkoli evaded paying VAT of Tk26 crore, said Ahsan Ullah, deputy commissioner, Chittagong Customs, Excise and VAT Commissionerate.
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According to the case record, VAT officials visited Fulkoli's Bakalia factory on 31 March and found evasion of Tk12,31,34,648 in VAT, over about a six year period, from July 2015 to March this year.
From April 2017 to March this year, the factory produced and supplied products worth Tk126.33 crore and the amount of VAT applicable was Tk16.48 crore. But the company paid only 5.31 crore as VAT i.e. the company evaded Tk11.17 crore.
Similarly, from FY2016 to FY2018, the company was supposed to pay VAT of Tk1.23 crore but paid only Tk8 lakh as source VAT during this period, which means it did not collect VAT at source on the remaining 1.15 crore.
As such, Fulkoli has evaded paying the government, VAT of Tk12.31 crore, including unpaid VAT and VAT at source.
Similarly, the Nasirabad factory of Fulkoli Bread and Industry Limited evaded VAT payment of Tk12.05 crore. From December 2016 to February this year, the company produced bread and bakery products worth Tk307.67 crore.
The amount of VAT on these products is Tk14.65 crore but the company has paid only Tk2.59 crore in VAT, short in payment by Tk12.08 crore.
The Fulkoli & Company Limited factory in Patiya has also fallen short in VAT payments by Tk1.89 crore. The company produced fast food and cakes worth Tk25.59 crore from April 2019 to March this year. The amount of VAT payable on these products is Tk3.20 crore but the company paid only Tk1.30 crore.
In this regard, General Manager of Fulkoli, MA Sabur, said VAT officers took the purchase and sale documents of goods from the factory on 31 March.
He said they Fulkoli received show cause notices for two of their concerns and not for any other concerns.
"We have not evaded any revenue. Our officers are on leave because of Covid-19. So we have requested time (Sunday) to respond to the show causes," he added.
