KARACHI: The Director General Customs Intelligence & Investigation has finalized the report regarding baggage section fraud.
Directorate General Lutfullah Virk had information that unaccompanied baggage facility is being massively misused at Karachi. Commercial items which are otherwise banned or not baggage items like copper tubing, auto parts, electronic home appliances and food supplements etc. are being imported in the garb of baggage.
In order to check the source reports Regional Office, Karachi intercepted a container after the same was cleared by the customs preventive staff.
The subject container was assessed and cleared on payment of duty / taxes amounting to Rs191,705. Re-examination and re-assessment revealed assessable duty / taxes of Rs. 1.397 million.
A large number of commercial / consumer items were found which had not been reported by the staff. In order to further analyze this phenomenon, four more containers imported from the port of Jebel-e-Ali (UAE) were examined after being cleared by the customs staff.
Average leviable duty / taxes worked out to Rs 382,707 per container, whereas, the same were released at average duty / taxes of Rs 114,702 per container.
In light of the above mentioned, the Directorate General approached Chief Collector (Enforcement) for arranging joint examination of 135 containers of baggage arrived from the port of Jebel-e-Ali (UAE) and laying at Al-Hamd (Off Dock) terminal.
Precise position showing, inter alia, commercial/high duty household appliances and other items were found. Out of 110 containers, 63 containers have been assessed to duty / taxes and total incident is Rs 20.4 million (Average Rs324,000 per container) which has been paid by the importers.
Remaining containers which have been examined are under assessment by the MCC, Preventive.
Prior to intervention of this Directorate General, 92 containers imported during July 2015 from the port of Jebel-e-Ali (UAE) were examined and assessed by the Collectorate to duty / taxes at Rs 9.7 million (Average Rs 105,000 per container). There is an increase of about 200 percent in revenue per container after interception by the Directorate General.