KARACHI: Directorate General of Post Clearance Audit (PCA) has initiated audit of vehicles cleared under the 2013 vehicles amnesty scheme.
Several teams have been formed to conduct audit of vehicles at various collectorates. A team comprising Deputy Director Rashid Munir and appraising officers Abdul Aziz, Rana Mohammad Naseer and Zulfiqar Zaman scrutinized 5958 cases cleared from MCC Appraisement West. The team found that in 556 files duty and taxes were short realized. Therefore, MCC Appraisement West is required to recover Rs43.728 million.
Another team headed by Assistant Director Maryam Khalid and comprising deputy superintendents Arshad Mehmood, Muhammad Zaheer, inspector Muhammad Mumtaz conducted the audit of vehicles cleared from MCC Islamabad under the vehicles amnesty scheme.
The audit found that revenue to the tune of Rs0.845 million was short realized in 14 cases as they were allowed inadmissible exemption under SRO 172(I)/2013 as amended vide SRO 185(I)/2013.
According to FTO, considerably more generous tax and tariff concessions were granted to smuggled vehicles as compared to old and used vehicles imported by overseas Pakistanis. Courts also declared the amnesty as illegal while several officials were suspended and even dismissed.
The amnesty was misused rather abused grossly as even vehicles not present in the country were cleared without even examination.
In March 2013, the Revenue Division notified amnesty for smuggled vehicles vide SRO 172(I)/2013. Instead of packaging guidelines for orderly implementation simultaneously while notifying the amnesty, the FBR haphazardly issued piecemeal instructions on different occasions during the amnesty period. This caused a lot of mismanagement in implementation.
Failure of the FBR to package the requisite guidelines for orderly implementation of amnesty across the country prompted mismanagement and abuse of the amnesty and triggered a lot of public criticism.
The overseas Pakistanis decried discrimination. The media highlighted the ravages of smuggling. The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) sent a scathing Policy Note to the Revenue Division/FBR on the adverse implications of amnesty for local auto industry.