FAISALABAD, Oct 28: A crackdown has been launched by the Sales Tax Department following the report about filing bogus sales tax invoices and blacklisted 31 firms found indulging in the practice.

Sources said hundreds of export houses, distributors and manufacturers had filed bogus sales tax invoices with forged documents and record to get over Rs500 million from the government on account of sales tax refunds.

The CBR, when came to know about the fraud, ordered all the Collectorates of Sales Tax to minutely check the record and blacklist the firms if found guilty.

During preliminary scrutiny, the record of 111 companies was checked of which 31 have been blacklisted. Cases have been registered against them.

The firms which have been blacklisted are; AP Traders, Cherub Textile, FA Traders, Farhan Textiles, Faraz Traders, Lucky Star Textile, Madni Traders, Mahmood Traders, Nadeem Traders, Pak Cotton Waste Products, Qasim Embroidery, RJ Traders, Rehman Weaving Factory, Suleman Fabrics, Tabassum Weaving Factory, Usmania Impex, Zaman Traders, Zeeshan Weaving Factory, Aslam Loom Store, Azam International, Bilal Traders, Faisal Textiles, Haven International, Kalachi Traders, Paramount Traders, Raza and Company, Salman Traders, Subhan Traders, Taj Weaving Industries, Universal Trading Corporation and Waqas Fabrics.

Sources said the firms which had been put under observation and for the reconciliation by the Sales Tax Department were owned by renowned industrialist families and office holders of various trade bodies.

Meanwhile, collector Shafqat Mahmood, while talking to the Pakistan Textile Exporters Association here on Thursday night, confirmed the action.

He said a large number of firms have yet to file their reconciliation statements.

He asked the exporters to file their statements so that it could also be settled without any further delay.