ISLAMABAD: Amid reports of ban on Maersk shipping line as Model Customs Collectorate of Preventive, Karachi issued a notice to M/s Maersk Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd and started the process to cancel license of the company for sheer violation of the Customs Act 1969 and SRO 1220(I)/2015, Member Customs Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Muhammad Zahid Khohar has also taken up the issue of alleged harassment and blackmailing of importers by shipping companies.
Customs Today raised the issue of blackmailing and threatening by the shipping line Maersk and its subsidiary M/s Maersk Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd and demanding heavy amounts of illegal demurrage and detention charges from genuine importers and then more than 30 media houses including TV channels and newspapers, a large number of chambers of commerce and leading businessmen also voiced their concern on issue.
Zahid Khokhar suggested the government that shipping companies should be brought under Customs Department’s authority by making necessary changes or amendments in relevant laws. He held that looting on the name of demurrage and detention charges by shipping companies is a serious issue and ‘we are aware and concerned with grievances of importers, therefore, there should be some check and balance on shipping companies. We have taken up the issue with authorities concerned and I hope it will be resolved in favor of importers’.
He advised shipping companies to avoid violation of the laws and strictly follow the rules & related SROs, adding that ‘we will not let the shipping companies loot Pakistani importers, there are clear rules and laws but unfortunately shipping companies concentrate on making money rather facilitating the importers’.
It is pertinent to mention here that importers had lodged application against Maersk Line and its subsidiary in Pakistan Maersk Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd for conspiracy, cheating and criminal breach of trust under PPC 407, 409, 420, 427, 506 and others so that these fraudsters are stopped to blackmail genuine importers by demanding ‘illegal’ additional charges.
The complaint received by the NAB and the FIA demanded legal action for recoveries of amounts looted and recovering losses of Rs. 610 billion to the national exchequer per year while also stopping such further losses from the accused persons of Maersk Line and M/s Maersk Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd including Søren Skou, Claus V. Hemmingsen, Søren Toft, Vincent Clercp, Morten H. Engelstoft, others of Maersk Line and Arslan Khan, Ghazanfar Khan, Raheel Salim, Maqsood Ul Hasan Khan, Fuad Khan, Hasan Faraz, Shakeel Masih, Omer Khan, Ali Jawad Alvi, Zafar Iqbal, Ayesha Chowdhry, Zahid Hussain, Salman Ahmad, Aamir Ali, Umais Aziz Khan, Mohammed Naeem, Farheen Mahmud, Mubasshar Iqbal, Affaq Syed, Syed Mohammad Abbas Jafri, Muhammad Tanveer Sharif, Salman Ateeq, Hamza Haq, Ziad Mahboob, Aamir Ibrahim, Yasir Saeed Khan, Amal Sadiq Dawood, Effat Mehmood, Maria Urooj, Zain Warsi, Mehreen Zulfiqar, Awais Saleem, Zafar Iqbal, Syed Osman Iqbal Zaidi, Anum Yaqub, Fahad Ali, Obaid Iqbal, Zahid Hussain, Muhammad Ali Qureshi, Danish Siddiqui, Amir Arif, Arshad Ayub, Syed Mudassir Ali, Syed Hammad Hussain, Ayesha Qadri, Sheikh Samiullah, others of M/S Maersk Pakistan Private Limited.
