By Staff Reporter
KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue has exposed a sprawling customs fraud at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, involving the illegal removal of high-value electronic goods worth hundreds of millions of rupees without proper declarations or payment of duties, a statement said on Friday.
The scheme, orchestrated by employees of a foreign-based ground-handling company in collusion with importers, marks one of the largest enforcement breakthroughs for the tax authority in recent years. The scam centered on the use of forged documents and fake gate passes to spirit away consignments of laptops, iPads, iPhones, MacBooks, PlayStations, and memory cards from the airport’s cargo facilities.
The FBR, the country’s tax collection agency, said the fraud came to light after it received credible intelligence and moved swiftly to tighten controls at the Karachi hub. The intervention led to the seizure of a consignment valued at Rs103 million, thwarting its illegal removal. “The fraud surfaced after credible intelligence was received and promptly acted upon to strengthen controls at the Karachi airport,” the FBR said in the statement.
Investigations revealed that five consignments, all shipped from the United Arab Emirates by Dubai-based Pir Jillani General Trading Co., were illegally removed using a sophisticated modus operandi. The consignments, packed in two pallets weighing 900-1,000 kilograms each, were deliberately concealed from the Customs WeBOC system, the digital platform used for goods declarations, allowing their clearance through fraudulent gate passes. The total estimated value of evaded duties and taxes across the five consignments amounts to Rs384 million, the FBR said.
“Employees of the company manipulated their computerized iCargo system to conceal airway bills for issuance of fake gate passes for illegal removal of high-value electronic goods,” the agency added, pointing to systemic abuse within the ground-handling company’s operations. Customs officials have faced significant resistance in their probe. The foreign-based company, which also served as the custodian of the goods, has refused to provide CCTV footage and critical records despite repeated requests, raising suspicions of complicity at senior management levels, according to the FBR.
The lack of cooperation has intensified scrutiny of the company’s role in the scheme. The Collectorate of Customs Airport Karachi has lodged two First Information Reports (FIRs) and arrested several employees of the ground-handling company implicated in the fraud. Further arrests and FIRs are expected as the investigation widens.
The FBR said it is working to recover the evaded amounts and vowed to pursue all leads to ensure accountability. Pakistan, which relies heavily on import duties to fund its budget, has struggled with smuggling and under-invoicing at its ports and airports. The International Monetary Fund, which approved a $7 billion loan program for the country in September last year, has pressed for stronger tax enforcement to bolster fiscal stability
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