The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has been ordered by President Dr. Arif Alvi to apologize and compensate a citizen whose three imported automobiles were handled improperly by Customs.
The complainant’s Customs Duty was reimbursed to some unlicensed clearing agents, who afterwards vanished with the money, after the Customs authorities wrongfully auctioned the automobiles at a cheap price of roughly Rs. 3 million without giving him any notice.
The president instructed FBR to check all receipts and documentation, return the sum based on the assessed worth of the cars, and reimburse importers and owners for any tariffs or levies that were paid in their favor. In order for FBR to make payment within 30 days, he also instructed the citizen to present all necessary documentation and reconcile with Customs. He said that since the proceeds from the sale were in the exchequer, interest should be applied to the payout.
When the complainant, Iftikhar Ahmed Awan, presented a case against the Wafaqi Mohtasib’s directives, the president issued these instructions. The complaint claimed that three automobiles were lawfully brought into Japan for the personal use of Pakistani expatriates residing there, and that the freight for the vehicles had been paid.
FBR, however, chose not to release the vehicles and instead auctioned them off for Rs. 3,019,385. When the complainant felt wronged, he went to Wafaqi Mohtasib, who gave the order for FBR to reimburse the owners of the sold automobiles. The complaint subsequently sent a submission to the president, requesting that Customs be instructed to pay the sale profits of the automobiles at current market rates and to reimburse all tariffs and other fees that were paid.
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It was brought out during the hearings that the ship carrying the cars landed at a different terminal after all procedures were completed, the Customs department auctioned the vehicles without notifying the importer, and the Customs Duty was reimbursed to unauthorized clearance agents, which resulted in huge financial loss to the importers/owners.
