KARACHI: The Customs Intelligence and Investigation (I&I) Karachi has lodged an FIR against a Karachi-based importer for committing fiscal fraud by electronically filing false and forged import documents and by re-using/mis-using the Electronic Import forms (EIFs) to declare significantly lower values than those at which goods were sold for export to Pakistan and then remitting the foreign exchange acquired from higher sale proceeds through non-banking/illegal channels by way of money laundering.
Information was passed through Director Engineer Habib Ahmad to Additional Director Afzaal Ahmad Wattoo regarding reuse of EIFs by the importer to defraud national exchequer. Deputy Director Raissa Kanwal formed a team headed by Appraising Officer Tauseef Ahmad to pursue the case.
The importer, identified as Farhan Raiq of M/s S.N International, had imported 35 consignments of solar panels of different watts from China at various collectorates of Customs Appraisement East, West and SAPT. The importer had incorrectly stated the values, by way of under-invoicing, of the imported consignments and declared their unit of measurement in “pieces” so as to deliberately avoid the valuation criteria of US$ 0.20/Watt in terms of the Valuation Ruling No. 1653/2022.
The importer had repeatedly used three different EIFs to clear the consignments, which is against the prevalent practice and procedure, whereby one EIF is used in one import transaction/GD only. The importer had concealed the original invoices and packing lists and instead uploaded falsified and fabricated invoices and packing lists, depicting much lower values.
The approved values of all three EIFs was US$156,259/- but the importer had cleared 35 consignments using said EIFs at the value of US$ 2,861,582 and by doing so he had concealed US$ 2,705,323. Then the accused sold the goods at higher values and remitted the sale proceed through illegal channels by way of money laundering.
Director I&I has appointed high profile officer Ilyas Ghichki as the IO of the case.