QUETTA: Collectorate of Customs Enforcement Quetta has registered an FIR against M/s Sharafuddin & Brothers Clearing and Forwarding Agent, along with Inspector Customs Appraisement Quetta, Dashti Khan.
Sources said that Chief Collector Baluchistan Yaqoob Mako directed Collector Quetta Tahir Qureshi and his team to detect this novel scam.
M/s Sitara Chemical Industries Ltd, Faisalabad, had filed a Goods Declid aration (GD) No. QCME-SB-544 on July 31, 2024, in the WeBOC system for the export of 200 metric tons of caustic soda flakes, packed in 2000 bags. The consignment, valued at $100,000, was to be exported through their clearing agent, M/s Sharafuddin & Brothers, Chaman. The GD included images of the packing list, commercial invoices, customs entry pass, and payment receipts.
The consignment was purportedly carried by four trucks with registration numbers JV-0742, NLE-383, TKM-471, and TKT-015. Inspector Dashti Khan reported no discrepancies during the examination, and the consignment was cleared by the Collectorate of Customs (Appraisement), Quetta.
However, Gate Out Officer Sikandar Ali noticed that the trucks were loaded with Pakistani rice instead of caustic soda flakes and halted the gate out process.
Upon further investigation, it was revealed that the four vehicles were indeed loaded with 200 metric tons of Pakistani rice, mis-declared as caustic soda flakes.
Notices were issued under Section 26 of the Customs Act, 1969, to both the exporter and the clearing agent for further information. The exporter, M/s Sitara Chemicals, denied authorizing the clearing agent for the consignment clearance and provided several documents for investigation.
The investigation revealed that the clearing agent, M/s Sharafuddin & Brothers, had fraudulently changed the description of the goods from rice to caustic soda flakes in the WeBOC system.
Despite multiple notices and reminders, the clearing agent did not respond, further implicating their involvement in the scam.
