ISLAMABAD: On instruction of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, all the Customs officers have surrendered all non-custom paid, tampered luxury vehicles, including Land Cruisers, Prados, Pajeros and SUVs etc.
Customs Intelligence and Investigation Director General Shaukat Ali is also among the officers who have given up possession of these vehicles.
After the apex court’s notice, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) had sought immediate surrender of such vehicles by the officers.
According to a letter of Customs Intelligence and Investigation dated April 30, DG Customs has reported the FBR chairman that all officers have surrendered and parked tampered luxury vehicles with few exceptions. And, now all the customs officers have surrendered and parked all non-custom paid, tampered luxury vehicles.
Meanwhile, DG Customs Intelligence and Investigation has requested FBR chairman to take disciplinary proceedings against the officers who are still not ready to surrender such vehicles.
According to letters of Port Qasim Collector Model Customs Collectorate Ch Muhammad Javaid and Model Customs Collectorate of Appraisement-East Karachi Collector Arshad Jawwad, in compliance of Board’s (FBR) direction, the vehicles of the said categories under the operational use of the collectorate have also been surrendered. Also, both collectorates have requested for allocation of suitable alternate vehicles/resources to perform functions efficiently as these vehicles were being used in public work relating to revenue, investigation, litigation handling in various courts and other similar important official work.
Both Collector Model Customs Collectorate, Port Qasim and Collector, Model Customs Collectorate of Appraisement-East Karachi in their letters have advocated that all such vehicles were being exclusively deployed to perform the operational duties such as anti-smuggling, recovery of arrears, patrolling, litigation management, port surveillance, warehouses visits, raids for making seizures and arrests etc.
