Lahore court stops FBR audit into Jehangir Tareen’s sugar mills
Restraining orders issued to the bureau

The Lahore High Court has stopped the Federal Board of Revenue from conducting an audit of disgruntled PTI leader Jehangir Tareen’s JDW Sugar Mills.

In a hearing on Tuesday, Justice Raheel Kamran issued a restraining order to the bureau.

Tareen in his petition stated that the FBR had sent him a notice, seeking record of income tax payments.

The FBR does not have the authority to conduct an audit after five years, he contended.

“The time to conduct the audit for 2015 has passed,” the petitioner told the court, adding the FBR notice was illegal and should be declared null and void.

Following this, Justice Kamran ordered the FBR to halt the audit and submit a response to the matter on June 9.

The JDW Sugar Mills comprise three units, two of which are located in Rahim Yar Khan and one in Ghotki. It accounts for 17% of the country’s total sugar production.

A sugar inquiry report was issued in May 2020. It revealed the way sugar barons had cheated farmers, benefited from subsidies, and created conditions so that the price of sugar could go up.

Tareen was among the people accused of benefitting the most from the crisis.

The report said that six major groups control 51% of the total sugar production. Tareen’s JDW Mills have the biggest share that is 20% of the total production.