KARACHI: Pakistani customs investigators have accused an importer, a customs agent and a bonded carrier of trying to clear two shipping containers of restricted goods, including cigarette paper and perfumes, as ordinary paper rolls in a scheme they say would have cost the government about 683 million rupees (roughly $2.4 million) in duties and taxes.
The Directorate General of Transit Trade at Karachi’s Custom House detailed the allegations in an interim report filed Oct. 24 in the court of the Special Judge (Customs, Taxation and Anti-Smuggling-I). The report follows a First Information Report, or FIR, registered Oct. 8.
The two containers were declared as “printed, mis-printed paper rolls and sheets,” a freely importable category that attracts lower duties. Investigators say they instead held cigarette paper, acetate tow and mineral water, along with a large quantity of perfumes from dozens of brands in the first container.
Importing cigarette paper is restricted under Pakistan’s Import Policy Order 2022 and is permitted only for cigarette manufacturers registered with the Federal Board of Revenue and the government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the report said.
The consignments were filed under Goods Declarations dated July 30 and Aug. 18. They were to be moved by transshipment from the Karachi port to a dry port in Lahore, the report said.
The scheme unraveled after the Anti-Narcotics Force’s Port Control Unit reported on Oct. 1 that it had found misdeclared items while inspecting the containers at the Qasim International Container Terminal, according to the report. Customs officials then carried out a joint physical examination. The Custom House laboratory later reported that samples were cellulose acetate tow and cigarette paper for wrapping tobacco.
Investigators allege the owner or directors of Green Pak Enterprises, a Lahore-based importer, acted with the “active connivance” of EQA Corporation, the customs agent that filed the declarations, and Pak Shaheen Cargo Services, the bonded carrier. The report also cites unnamed accomplices, financiers and beneficiaries whose roles remain under investigation.
The accused face charges under several sections of the Customs Act of 1969, the Sales Tax Act of 1990, the Income Tax Ordinance of 2001 and the Import and Export (Control) Act of 1950, the report said.
Investigators arrested two people after the FIR was filed: Muhammad Abdullah, a director of Pak Shaheen Cargo Services, and Dost Ali, the company director’s driver. The court sent Dost Ali to jail custody on Oct. 14 and Abdullah on Oct. 17.
The driver told investigators he earns a monthly salary of 30,000 rupees and has no knowledge of the company’s business dealings, the report said.
Muhammad Ibrahim, owner of EQA Corporation, was granted interim pre-arrest bail by the court on Oct. 19 but has not appeared before the investigating officer to give a statement or submit documents, the report said. Green Pak Enterprises is listed as an absconder.
Investigators described the case as a “massive case of mis-declaration” meant to deprive the government of legitimate revenue. They said the investigation continues and that efforts to apprehend the other accused persons are underway.
The report was prepared by Inspector Tariq Hanif, the investigating officer. The complainant is Inspector Abdul Majeed Sheikh. A handwritten note on the first page, apparently from the court, accepts the report and directs that the absconding accused be declared as such pending further proceedings.
The accused have not been convicted, and the allegations have not been tested in court. The AP could not immediately reach the accused for comment.
