LAHORE: The Customs Anti-Smuggling Organization (ASO) of Multan has intensified anti-smuggling activities and seized 53 non-customs paid vehicles, diesel, mobile phones and other goods worth Rs 296 million.
During an exclusive interview with Customs Today, Collector of Customs Saud Imran said that on the directives of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Tariq Mahmood Pasha and Member Customs Muhammad Zahid Khokhar, the MCC Multan has stepped up its efforts and adopted zero tolerance strategy against smuggling.
The ASO Multan seized 53 smuggled vehicles worth Rs 120.2 million and miscellaneous goods worth Rs 176 million during the last five months of financial year 2017-18.
Saud Imran said that an ASO team raided four godowns dumped with the illegally imported goods and articles in Multan. In one raid, it recovered 9,700 mobile phones while cigarettes and Gutka worth millions of rupees were seized from other three locations. Other important seizures included, smuggled diesel, art silk cloth and auto parts.
He said that the total value of seizure made by MCC Multan was Rs296.492 million as compared to Rs157.82 million for the corresponding period of the last financial year last year 2016-17. The Collectorate registered eight cases of non-customs paid luxury vehicles worth Rs14.3 million while it made four cases of other goods and articles worth Rs27. 1 million registering a total of 12 cases worthy Rs41.7 million registering a total of 12 cases of abandoned vehicles and articles during the month of July 2017.
Similarly, the ASO of the Collectorate made 18 case worth Rs 57.36 million during the month of November 2017. The ASO team seized 14 non customs paid vehicles worth Rs 46.6 million while goods and articles worth Rs10 million were also impounded during the month. Further the ASO team confiscated non duty paid vehicles goods and article worth Rs 39.122 during the month of September. On the whole the ASO of the Collectorate registered 10 cases of non-duty paid items and vehicles.
Likewise during the month of October the ASO Multan impounded over Rs 43.51 million goods by registering 18 cases against the smugglers of non-customs paid vehicles and items.
Further the ASO team registered 10 cases worth Rs115 million during the month of November. On the whole the ASO Multan impounded nine non-duty vehicles and one case was registered against the smugglers of non-customs paid good and articles, the collector concluded as saying.
