Daily Times

The National Tobacco Company has got a criminal case registered against four persons for allegedly selling counterfeit cigarettes and causing millions of rupees loss to the national exchequer through tax evasion.

Chishtian Police has registered a case against Haq Nawaz alias Ganj Shakar, Irfan son of Yaqoob, Akbar Abbas son of Haji Mehr Deen and Arshad Abbas son of Haji Mehr Deen following a complaint from legal adviser of the company. According to the FIR, the adviser informed the police that National Tobacco Company is a registered company in Azad Kashmir with its head office in Lahore. The company regularly pays all its taxes while all its brands are registered under the trademark and copy rights. He informed the police that some fraudsters were manufacturing counterfeit cigarettes in Chishtian tehsil of Bahawalnagar district of Punjab under the Classic and Hero brands and were selling them illegally. The scoundrels are using the fake color scheme of the trade mark to sell them in the market.

According to the FIR, he informed the police that sale and purchase of the counterfeit cigarettes is not only hurting reputation of the company but also damaging the users’ health. The complainant along with a witness Mohammad Rafique son of Mohammad Ateeq tried to convince the accused of refraining from this illegal activity, but to no avail. They were causing millions of rupees loss to the national exchequer through tax evasion, he said.

The company’s team had confiscated the counterfeit cigarettes from the market and shopkeepers failed to furnish a sale invoice for them. The shopkeepers pointed the accused for selling them the counterfeit cigarettes.

The company has urged the police to take stringent action against the accused for selling the counterfeit cigarettes by impersonating its well-established brand, and stop their illegal activities forthwith. The police have registered a case and started further investigation into the matter.