GUJRAT: The Gujranwala Regional Tax Office (RTO) on Friday claimed to have seized 1,550 cartons of non-duty paid cigarettes worth Rs165 million from different locations during the last fiscal year.

A statement said that payable taxes and duties of around Rs145 million and the seized cigarette cartons were deposited at the RTO warehouse after legal proceedings.

A special ceremony was organised by the RTO where Gujranwala RTO Chief Commissioner Yasmin Fatima and Lahore Additional Director Dr Tanveer Hussain Bhatti presented appreciation shields to the Gujranwala RTO squad for their excellent performance during the fiscal year 2024–25.

Additional Commissioner (Head-quarters) Riffat Aziz was also present at the ceremony.

Ms Yasmin Fatima, while appreciating the team, said that they had worked very hard during the fiscal year and demonstrated excellent performance.

Dr Tanveer said that under the leadership of Assistant Director Rana Nadeem, the team confiscated a large number of non-duty paid cigarettes during the year, which was commendable. He said the entire team possessed professional competence.

The officers and officials who were given appreciation shields at the ceremony included team in-charge assistant director Rana Nadeem, assistant director Tariq Javed, assistant director Javed Iqbal, senior auditor Sarfraz Ahmed, Rana Asghar Ali, Asghar Ali Gondal, and sepoy Qadeer Ahmed.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2025