KARACHI: Collector Adjudication Fareed Iqbal Qureshi has imposed penalty of Rs1.0 million each in two different orders on M/s Karachi International Container Terminal (KICT) for availing inadmissible benefit of concessionary SRO through mis-declaration. The Customs agent M/s Port connection has also been fined.
Collector Adjudication has also requested Directorate of Post Clearance Audit (PCA) to workout legitimate amount of duty and taxes recoverable from M/s KICT.
According to the details, scrutiny of data by PCA Karachi, it was found that M/s KICT when failed to get exemption under SRO 575(I)/2006 from Board of Investment, availed exemption of SRO 659(I)/2007 evading a total of RS50.401 million duty and taxes.
M/s KICT imported cable reel, control box, HV Cable Transformer, switchgear and other accessories and ought clearance under PCT 7307.2900 while in fact the goods were appropriately assessable under PCT 7326.9090.
In another case as reported by Post Clearance Audit (PCA), M/s KICT imported LC goods i.e. hybrid control system for rubber tyre gantry cranes in four partial shipments.
In all four consignments, declaration of goods were not according to shipping invoices and not in line with the description of goods in the LC; PCT headings against various items were misclassified and misreported; various items were cleared from Customs without payment of duty claiming inadmissible exemptions.
Hence, M/s KICT evaded a total of Rs85.188 million on these four consignments.
The Collector Adjudication after detailed deliberations and scrutiny of the record held charges of mis-declaration established.
Collector Adjudication has advised PCA to work-out the recoverable amount/liability of duty and taxes as per the classification determined by the department.
Earlier, in June 2015, Collector Fareed Iqbal Qureshi had imposed a penalty of Rs5.0 million on M/s KICT for evading Rs238.015 million through availing inadmissible benefit of SRO 575(I)/2006 on the import of used quay cranes.
It may be mentioned here that Post Clearance Audit (PCA) Karachi has become a vibrant department in the last six months making record detections of revenue evasion.