KARACHI: The Model Customs Collectorate of Appraisement-West is all set to lodge FIRs against over a dozen importers for evading duty and taxes through mis-declaration and claiming undue benefit of SRO 1125 and Pak-China FTA under SRO 659 causing huge revenue loss to the exchequer.
According to details, a large number of fabric consignments were online blocked on a tip-of by the Directorate General, intelligence and Investigation-FBR.
In order to ascertain the veracity of the information, the said consignments were jointly examined by the staff of Model Customs Collectorate, Appraisement (West-KICT), Karachi and the Directorate General, Intelligence and Investigation-PER, Karachi.
Representative samples were drawn from the consignments which were forwarded by the Directorate General to the Customs Laboratory for their chemical analysis. [the_ad id=”31605″] As per Customs Lab Reports the consignments were found to contain woven textile fabric composed of blended viscose rayan upto 85% & mercerised cotton 15% , as such the benefit of claimed SROs and Pak-China FTA was not applicable.
These importers attempted to clear from the Customs huge quantity of woven textile Fabric composed of blended viscose rayan upto 85% & mercerised cotton 15% imported in the garb of cotton blended / polyester fabric and claiming undue benefit of SRO 1125 and FTA benefit aiming at evading duty and taxes leviable thereon.
It was learnt that 74 Goods Declaration comprising of 170 containers were blocked by Appraisement Collectorate West imported by over a dozen importers. FIRs against these importers would be lodged in a day or two. It may be mentioned here that DG I&I already lodged 7 FIRs for 33 containers in the similar case of mis-declaration and duty/tax evasion.
Sources said that these measures against the mis-declaration of fabric would discourage the legal import of fabric and all the import of fabric would be diverted towards Afghan Transit Trade (ATT). It is to recall that a large number of products imported, destined to Afghanistan through ATT are pilfered in Pakistan enroute to Afghanistan.
Sources said that until and unless fool-proof enforcement was ensured against smuggling, these measures would not be beneficial for the country.