Pakistan Customs investigates Baskin Robbins, AHG Flavours, Interlink Corporation in major tax fraud

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Customs has launched an investigation into a case of tax and duty evasion involving AHG Flavours Pvt. Ltd. and Interlink Corporation. The Director General of Post Clearance Audit (PCA) has issued a show cause notice of PKR 150 million in evaded duties and taxes.

The investigation includes verification of value and sales invoices issued by Dunkin Brands International to AHG Flavours. To corroborate these documents, PCA wrote letters to the Consul General of Pakistan in Dubai and Houston on July 10, 2023, requesting them to engage with Baskin Robbins offices for verification.

Baskin Robbins, a well-known ice cream brand, is a subsidiary of Dunkin Brands, Inc., which is itself part of Inspire Brands, Inc., headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Consul General in Dubai approached Baskin Robbins executives, Caner Gursoy and John Varughese, who unequivocally refused to cooperate with the Pakistan Embassy’s inquiry. On the other hand, the Consul General in Houston declined to contact Baskin Robbins executives.

As per documents available with Daily Ausaf, AHG Flavours serves as the master licensee for Baskin Robbins in Pakistan. Similarly, Interlink Corporation acts as a front for AHG Flavours, facilitating customs duty evasion and money laundering through intricate schemes.

Furthermore, it is stated that a UAE-based subsidiary of Interlink Corporation is allegedly used for generating fake invoices and money laundering. Original invoices from Baskin Robbins show significantly higher shipment values. However, fake invoices produced by Interlink Trading FZE depict much lower values, leading to substantial under-invoicing.

According to the details available with Daily Ausaf, the presented evidence includes genuine invoices from Baskin Robbins for shipments made to AHG Flavours, alongside tampered invoices from Interlink Trading FZE. For instance:

– Genuine invoice values:
– US $93,045.95
– US $93,154.02
– US $87,278.27

– Tampered invoice values:
– US $62,984.08
– US $64,486.90
– US $58,771.28

These discrepancies have led to the evasion of substantial customs duties and taxes. AHG Flavours and Interlink Corporation allegedly use illegal financial channels like Hawala/Hundi and external import financing (EIFs) to transfer undeclared funds abroad. T

Abdul Qayyum Hafeez, the complainant, has urged PCA to take immediate action against AHG Flavours Pvt. Ltd. and Interlink Corporation. Request the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to liaise with the Federal Customs Authority of the UAE and U.S. Customs and Border Protection for document verification.

According to details, the alleged tax evasion by AHG Flavours and Interlink Corporation has resulted in a loss of over PKR 1 billion from 2018 to 2021.