An investigative audit conducted by a regional tax audit team has revealed corruption and embezzlement involving 17 tehsil sub-registrars responsible for tax collection in the districts of Sargodha, Khushab, Mianwali, Bhakkar, and Mandi Bahauddin.
Prompted by complaints of corruption against these officers, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) audit team, under the supervision of Additional Commissioner Withholding Muhammad Ali Mayo, conducted both electronic and physical scrutiny of records.
The audit uncovered irregularities and embezzlement by the sub-registrars during the registration of various deeds in the fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
The scrutiny also revealed that, regardless of filer or non-filer status, all sub-registrars deducted tax uniformly during the registration of sale deeds but failed to deposit the deducted tax in the government treasury in numerous cases. Following the electronic audit, the FBR issued notices to the implicated 17 sub-registrars.
The investigation further exposed the preparation of fake tax challans in registrar offices, indicating tax evasion and embezzlement of substantial amounts. Sources disclosed that collusion among sub-registrars, notaries, lawyers, petition writers, registry clerks, and other revenue staff resulted in a loss of billions of rupees to the national exchequer through tax fraud.
Additional Commissioner Muhammad Ali Mayo highlighted that this electronic audit, completed within a short period of 30 days, marks a significant milestone for the FBR, attributing the success to the dedicated efforts of the FBR team.
