KARACHI: The Customs authorities have informed the Sindh High Court (SHC) that it is conducting an audit of a private bonded warehouse being operated by Huffaz Seamless Pipe Industries Limited after imported prime steel bars worth Rs 650 million were found missing from the warehouse.
The officials of Model Customs Collectorate Hyderabad submitted their reply to a division bench of the SHC, which is hearing a petition filed by Huffaz Seamless Pipe Industries Limited, seeking renewal of its warehouse license.
The petitioner pleaded the judges to order the customs authorities to issue it a fresh license for operating the warehouse. The court was further requested to issue directives for the authorities to ex-bond the petitioner’s consignment of prime steel bars lying in the warehouse.
In response to the court notice, the customs officials submitted their reply to the court, stating that the licensee had imported 22 consignments containing 33699 pieces of prime steel bars of different specifications and Gardolube L6178 weighing 16 metric tons and in-bonded the consignments in the warehouse in Nooriabad area. When MCC Hyderabad officials conducted stocktaking of the warehouse, they found almost more than 95 percent of the in-bonded goods illegally removed from the warehouse without payment of customs duty and taxes. Only 2795 pieces of bars were found lying on the premises of the warehouse. As per calculation 31636 pieces of bars worth Rs 650 million were removed from the warehouse.
However, further audit of the warehouse was underway and the authorities required some time to complete the same. Taking their comments on the record, a division bench comprising Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Junaid Ghaffar directed the MCC Hyderabad to complete the audit within 15 days under the supervision of the Nazir of the court and submit a report before this court until November 26.
