ISLAMABAD: The investigation in seizure of 21 non-customs paid luxury vehicles – all belonging to the Qatari royal family – has revealed that the import duty applicable on all 50 cars, recovered from the parking lot of a dairy farm owned by Saifur Rehman, a former chairman of the now defunct Ehtasab Bureau, had been waived for a period of three months by the PML-N government via a statutory regulatory order.
However, sources in Customs Department, said that the duty was never paid and the cars never returned to Qatar.
The 21 vehicles were part of a batch of 50 cars imported by Qatari royals three years ago for hunting purposes. The remaining vehicles are suspected to be in the use of prominent personalities.
The Qatar Embassy in Islamabad has confirmed the ownership of the cars.
According to the source, the Customs Department suspects that some of the vehicles had been in the use of the Sharif family. At least one of the cars was recovered from Maryam Nawaz’s son, Junaid Safdar, the source said.
The driver of the vehicle, who was arrested when the car was seized, had provided the tip-off about the location of the other vehicles. The manager of the dairy farm has asked for time to provide the legal paperwork for the cars.
Sources further said that Customs officers have given him three days. Failure to provide legal documentation will result in the registration of a criminal case, they added.
