Senate subcommittee on Finance & Revenue discusses solar panel import over-invoicing

ISLAMABAD, Feb 13 (SABAH): The Senate Finance Subcommittee, chaired
by Senator Mohsin Aziz, convened Thursday to discuss the ongoing
investigation into the solar panel import over-invoicing. Key revelations
surrounding the involvement of a dummy company in the import process
were presented by Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) officials.

FBR officials revealed that the owner of one particular company, which was
involved in the import of solar panels, falsely portrayed himself as a salaried
individual in official documents. The company, identified as a dummy entity,
imported solar panels worth around Rs 2.29 billion. It was also reported that
this same company showed sales of solar panels amounting to more than Rs
2.58 billion.

The committee heard startling figures from the FBR, revealing that
companies had transferred around Rs 106 billion for solar imports. A
staggering Rs 69 billion worth of over-invoicing was detected during the
investigation. In total, the FBR has identified 80 suspicious companies
involved in the solar import scandal. Of these, 63 companies, accounting for
Rs 69 billion in transactions, were flagged for over-invoicing.

As a result of the over-invoicing findings, the FBR has filed 13 FIRs against
the implicated companies. Further questioning revealed that several

companies, such as Bright Star, Moonlight, Asadullah Enterprises, and Smart
Impex, were involved in over-invocing.
Senator Mohsin Aziz demanded further clarification from Bank Alfalah on the
solar import transactions of these companies, calling for transparency on the
amounts transferred and the nature of their business activities.

FBR officials disclosed alarming information about the misuse of identity
cards. Several individuals were found to have deposited large sums of
money under false pretenses. One individual had deposited Rs 14 million in
Bank but later denied the transaction, while another claimed he had never
seen such a large amount in his life.

The committee also revealed that Bright Star, a company heavily implicated
in the issue, falsely claimed to have imported solar panels at high rates and
sold them at lower rate in local market. FBR officials emphasized that Bright
Star was a fake and bogus company involved in fraudulent solar import
activities.

Further investigation uncovered that although solar panels were imported
from China, the funds for these transactions were illegally transferred to ten
other countries also. Over Rs 18 billion was sent to foreign countries, which
needs further scrutiny.

Representatives from Faisal Bank testified that Bright Star and Moonlight
had made multiple transactions involving large sums. Bright Star had four
transactions totaling Rs 185 million, all of which were cash deposits.
Additionally, Moonlight had two transactions worth Rs 49 million. Following
Faisal Bank had issued STR and regarding these suspicious dealings.

In a striking revelation, the value of Smart Impact, another company under
investigation, was reported to be only having paid up capital of Rs 2,000.
Despite this, the company deposited over Rs 1.54 billion in cash, with total
deposits amounting to Rs 3.39 billion.The Committee decided to hold further
inquiries in the next committee meeting.

Senator Aziz raised concerns about the State Bank’s failure to provide the
necessary information on the solar import scandal. However, Deputy
Governor of the State Bank assured the committee that all data related to
solar imports would be collected and presented in the next meeting.

Senator Mohsin Aziz has vowed to continue investigating the full extent of
the scandal and ensure that all those responsible for the fraudulent activities
are held accountable.