KARACHI: Collectorate of Customs Appraisement East has detected a scam involving the use of fake and forged bank letters to clear imported goods without proper payment and verification.
Sources told Customs Today that the scam was detected by Collector Jameel Baloch, who conveyed the information to Deputy Collector Romaila Jacob. The case was pursued by Principal Appraiser Muhammad Farooq, Appraising Officer Ghani Soomro and SPS Hashim Malak.
Sources told that the importer filed a Goods Declaration (GD) for a consignment of solar panels and uploaded a scanned letter in the WeBOC system, claiming to be issued by Dubai Islamic Bank, Urdu Bazar Branch, Karachi. The letter stated that the importer was eligible for open account facility, which means that the importer can make payments after receiving the goods.
However, the letter turned out to be fake, as confirmed by the bank itself. The importer had hoodwinked the customs authorities by submitting fake documents and managed to clear the goods on
The MCC Appraisement East also received a letter from the Directorate of Post Clearance Audit, Karachi, alerting them that the importer had been using a dummy NTN number (5217810-6) for importing solar panels instead of their own NTN number. This was done to bypass the requirement of I-form approvals and illegally avail the open account facility.
Moreover, the importer’s office or business unit was not found at the address mentioned in the GD. The importer had therefore, concealed their identity and location to avoid scrutiny and accountability.
Appraisement East has registered an FIR against the importer and their accomplices for in-depth investigation into the matter. The importer is facing charges of fraud, forgery, mis-declaration and tax evasion.
Customs Appraisement East have also registered a case and started investigations.
