KARACHI: Customs Court Judge Syed Faiz Rasool Rashdi has adjourned the hearing of a case filed against directors of M/s ATS Synthetic (Private) Limited, M/s Inservey Pakistan (Private) Limited and owners/partners of M/s SK Enterprises who were booked in a case of filing of incorrect Import General Manifest (IGM) data in Pakistan Customs Computerized System (WeBOC) system of three different consignments to evade duty and taxes of Rs 998,245.
According to the prosecution, the companies imported different types of polyester, including special tricot, woven and jersey (knitted) and and declared them ‘fabric’. An information in this regard was received from Customs Appraisement West, Karachi and after investigation, it was learnt that M/s Inservey Pakistan (Private) Limited has committed a fraud by issuing fake ‘Bills of Landing’ in place of the original ones.
The investigation officer informed the court that, it was observed that freight forwarders/co-loader/shipping agent M/s Inservey, in connivance with the importers, got the goods cleared by misleading the vital information with regard to the shipper’s name, port of landing, country of origin, etc.
“The goods were actually shipped from Korea but M/s Inservey Pakistan (Private) Limited, while issuing of House Bills of landing and filing the IGM in WeBOC, fraudulently manipulated the shipper’s name as ‘Huzhoucathe Textiles Company Ltd, Huzhou, China, and port of loading as Shanghai. China.” These consignments were shipped from Kwangyang, Korea through M/s Korea Marine Transport Co. Ltd., whose master shipping agent was M/s United Marine Agencies (Pvt) Ltd., Karachi.
FIR mentioned that M/s Inservey Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd., Karachi in connivance of the importer electronically feed incorrect/false information with ulterior motives in the WeBOC. The Bill of Lading, showing wrong shipper’s name and country of origin as China instead of actual particulars information mentioned in the Master Bill of Lading by M/s Korea Marine Transport Co. Ltd. Goods were mis-declared to avail inadmissible concession of Pak-China ETA regime under SRO 659(I)/2007.
Case was registered in violation of Section 19, 32(1) 32-(2). 32-A, 79 of Customs Act 1969 punishable under clause 10A, 14, 14-A and 46 of Section 56 (1) of the Customs Act. 1969 read with Import and Export (Control) Act, 1950.
