ISLAMABAD: Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) Zafar Hijazi has flagged what he called an organised scam behind the import and clearance of an iPhone 16, directing the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to investigate whether FedEx staff, Customs officials, and private individuals were involved, and whether similar cases have occurred elsewhere in the country, Dawn reported.
The case originated from a complaint by Muhammad Nausherwan Khan, whose sister in Canada shipped him an iPhone 16 Plus via FedEx in December 2024. Khan paid a PTA tax of Rs138,526 once the device reached Karachi, but says he never received it.
He later found that someone had used a forged authority letter to have the phone released to a different person entirely.
In his order released Tuesday, FTO Hijazi said the episode showed a coordinated scheme that kept a duty-paying, lawful consignee from his own property for more than eighteen months.
Customs officials defended the release, telling the Ombudsman they had verified the detention receipt, invoice, and other paperwork submitted by a clearing agent.
Hijazi pushed back, questioning why Khan, listed as the consignee on all import records, was turned away when he personally sought the device from Customs.
Investigators found the discrepancy as Khan’s name never changed in the tracking records, but the address and contact details on the airway bill and invoice had been swapped for someone else’s. Hijazi called this pattern of tampering evidence of an organised scam that could not be brushed aside.
The complainant later told the Ombudsman his individual complaint had been resolved, but the FTO opted to keep investigating the wider pattern, arguing the public interest demanded a fuller inquiry into the suspected fraud.
The Ombudsman’s recommendations to the FBR include directing the Chief Collector of Customs (Airports) to open a focused inquiry into the courier company, pull courier import data spanning January 2025 to June 2026 to surface comparable cases, probe the use of forged authority letters, examine whether Customs personnel enabled the scheme, and pursue legal or disciplinary action where the evidence supports it.
Hijazi also called for a standard operating procedure governing courier clearances to be adopted uniformly at all international airports.
