ISLAMABAD, Dec 1: Pakistan’s Federal Board of Revenue transferred the Collector Customs of Gilgit Baltistan (GB), Nisar Ahmad who had exposed the big revenue scam and even revealed the alleged involvement of DG Customs Intelligence Faiz Ahmad in the scam, pakistan Today reported.
The Collector Customs GB had candidly disclosed that Faiz Ahmad, DG custom intelligence, patronised a criminal principal appraiser, GB customs Raja Waseem who, with the support and protection of DG, caused massive revenue losses by assessing 30 ton weight fabrics and cosmetics containers for an average duty and taxes of Rs 2.8 million and by extorting from importers Rs 3 million per container as bribe money for his assessing the imported goods at nominal duty and taxes causing a massive revenue loss on each container. However, after such revelations, instead of ordering an immediate high-level inquiry into the alleged collusive connection between DG custom intelligence and the principal appraiser, the FBR chose to transfer the Collector Customs and forget about the collector’s disclosures.
FBR stated in its response to the collector’s disclosure of massive revenue losses allegedly patronised by DG custom intelligence himself that the Collector’s allegations were mere accusations intended to malign the senior officers, reported Pakistan Today.
In its response to the collector’s disclosures, the FBR stated further that during the current season more than 465 GDs had been filed at Sost Dry Port out of which only eight GDs had been blocked by the DG custom intelligence. However, FBR’s response goes out of the eight blocked GDs, only three were arranged for re-examination wherein a revenue loss of Rs6.44 million was detected and recovered and the remaining five GDs were not re-examined.
The collector’s disclosure of a serious revenue loss scam in GB customs, senior customs officers’ alleged involvement in the scam and FBR’s response to it raise more questions than they answer. While framing its response, FBR seems to have ignored many clues which could help FBR reach the truth or otherwise of the collector’s disclosures, according to pakistan Today.
Earlier also, in August, Pakistan’s government transferred 21 senior officials of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to the Inland Revenue Service (IRS), as per the local media reports.
The FBR is a central revenue collection agency of the Government of Pakistan that investigates crimes related to tax evasion and money laundering.
In 2019, the government led by Imran Khan transferred more than 2,500 FBR employees across the country to various departments with the aim to meet revenue targets. The move aimed at bringing reforms under which the Board’s headquarters were trimmed and the number of members will be reduced from over one dozen to just four or five.
However, the reshuffle has not been limited to revenue officials alone. Soon after Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi’s appointment as Punjab Chief Minister, the leader began to reshuffle the provincial government’s bureaucracy. (ANI)
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