Customs intelligence Karachi recovers smuggled goods worth Rs438 million in three months

KARACHI: Asif Marghoob Siddiqui, Director, Customs Intelligence, Karachi has said that in the ongoing anti-smuggling drive his office recovered huge quantity of smuggled goods worth Rs438 million during past three months.
The seized goods are included: 385,000 Iranian diesel oil, air-conditioners, vehicles, mobile phones, laptops, plastic granules, scrap, generators and tyres etc., he said at a press conference on Thursday.
He said that directorate general of intelligence and investigation of FBR, Karachi had launched a systematic operation against smuggling of goods and tax evasion on the instructions of Lutfullah Virk, director general, customs intelligence, Islamabad.
At the press conference Siddiqui was along with his team comprising Feroz Alam Junejo, Nadeem Ahsan, additional directors and Ahsan Khan, Deputy Director.
He briefed that recently formulated anti-smuggling strategy by Federal Board of Revenue, Islamabad which helped bring all customs field formations and law enforcement agencies including Police, Rangers, District Management together against the menace of smuggling.
Under the circumstances, anti-smuggling organization of the directorate helped recover duty and taxes more than Rs103 million during the period.
He further said that the anti-smuggling operations will continue and necessary instructions in this regard have been issued to concerned staff of Karachi, Sukkur and Hyderabad.
He said that during the period cases of evasion involving duty and taxes were also detected at Karachi port as well as Port Muhammad Bin Qasim. Evasion of government revenue amounting to Rs796 million was unearthed in 36 cases. “Contravention reports have been forwarded to the concerned adjudication authorities,” Siddiqui said.
He said that major portion of the detected of taxes related to misuse of SRO 1125 that allows concessions in taxes to the industries.
Further additional revenue amounting to Rs63 million was also got deposited into the government treasury during the same period. The director said that his department would continue with the ongoing anti-smuggling drive despite resource constraint to safeguard government revenue and support genuine taxpayers.