PESHAWAR: The Collectorate of Customs Appraisement has registered four FIRs against importers and others for allegedly submitting fake or forged pay orders in place of sales tax payments. The cases involve goods cleared at the Azakhel Dryport in Nowshera.
All three FIRs were registered on September 29, 2026, by the Investigation & Prosecution Branch under Section 161 of the Customs Act, 1969. Inspector Shahbaz Khan is the complainant in each. The alleged offence is dated around 1400 hours that day at Azakhel Dryport.
Together the cases involve about Rs103 million in sales tax, based on the amounts stated in the FIRs’ tables.
The largest case is against M/s Yousafzai Foods, a Malakand-based importer of green and black tea.
According to the FIR, the firm submitted 18 pay orders against 13 Goods Declarations to claim sales tax exemption for industrial units in the erstwhile FATA/PATA. The sales tax involved is Rs76,383,759.
The Collectorate wrote to the concerned bank on September 23 to verify the instruments. The bank reportedly replied that the 18 cashier cheques were not issued by its branch, that their serial numbers do not exist there, and that the signatures did not match its staff.
The FIR alleges the importer knowingly presented forged instruments to cause wrongful loss to the exchequer. Unnamed customs staff may also be investigated.
This case names Awais Khan, owner of M/s Best Corporation, which imported LED TV parts, and Abdul Wakeel, described as the person who presented the cheques. It also names Nabeel Nasir, a lower division clerk serving as Security Officer in the WeBOC system at the Collectorate, and the Operation Manager of a Faysal Bank branch in Khyber Agency.
The FIR alleges the genuine pay order, issued by the bank on September 16, 2025 and returned by the importer on October 30, 2025, was replaced with a forged one. It says the forged pay order carried a fake endorsement and stamp of the Collector of Customs (Appraisement), though the Collectorate never cancelled or endorsed it.
The FIR notes it was unusual for a Collector to endorse a pay order, since such instruments are normally cancelled by a Principal Appraiser or Inspector and sent to the bank with a release order. It alleges the bank processed the pay order without a release order and without informing the Collectorate. Rs21,179,565 in sales tax is involved. The FIR describes securing pay orders as the Security Officer’s responsibility.
This case names Umar Hayat, owner of M/s Ajwa Enterprises, a Khyber-based importer of PU-coated fabric, and again names Abdul Wakeel as the presenter of the forged instruments. The importer allegedly submitted Pay Order No. 0808501 to claim exemption under Entry 151 of the Sixth Schedule to the Sales Tax Act, 1990. The bank reportedly told the Collectorate, after checking its data and manual records, that the pay order was fake.
All three FIRs cite Sections 32(1)(a) and 32A(1)(a) and (e) of the Customs Act, 1969, punishable under Section 156(1), read with provisions of the Sales Tax Act, 1990. They also invoke Sections 420, 468 and 471 of the Pakistan Penal Code. All three say others may be identified during investigation.
An audit of clearances at the dryport is still going on, and officials say more FIRs are likely as further instruments are verified.
The accused have not been convicted of any offence. The FIRs contain allegations that are yet to be tested in court.
