KARACHI: Under the supervision of Director-General Dr. Zulfikar Ali Chaudhry, Directorate of Post Clearance Audit (PCA) South has registered a first information report (FIR) against M/s Qazi Sanjrani Enterprises (Pvt) Limited for tax evasion amounting to Rs2.4 billion.
This fraud involved the simultaneous misuse of four export exemption regimes: Manufacturing Bond, Duty and Tax Remission for Export (DTRE), Temporary Import (TI) under SRO 492, and the Export Facilitation Scheme (EFS), resulting in significant losses to the national kitty.
The fraudulent activities came under radar when the factory imported vast quantities of clinker and packing materials without adhering to the export requirements stipulated under these exemption schemes.
During initial scrutiny by appraising officers Hafiz Muhammad Qasim Rabbani and Imran Saifi, based on customs and sales tax data, revealed several discrepancies, prompting a physical inspection of the factory premises on December 18, 2024.
The PCA audit team conducted a stock assessment and discovered that out of a total quantity of 463,334 metric tons (MT), only 62,000 MT of clinker was found at the factory.
A staggering 395,000 MT, worth Rs3.3 billion, was missing, indicating that the goods had been pilfered and potentially sold in the domestic market. The importer failed to provide a plausible explanation for the missing goods.
During the stock-taking process, the importer claimed that 15,000 MT of clinker was stockpiled at Taftan and Gwadar dry ports.
However, this assertion was found to be false, as no tangible evidence supported the claim, suggesting another layer of deceit. The importer had made substantial imports by availing exemptions but failed to make corresponding exports under the said schemes, despite the expiration of utilization periods for the Manufacturing Bond, DTRE, and SRO 492.
The PCA team calculated the total evasion of duty taxes to be Rs2.4 billion, with Rs369 million through the Manufacturing Bond, Rs222 million via DTRE, Rs91 million under Temporary Import of SRO 492, and a colossal Rs1 billion through EFS misuse.
Additionally, a surcharge of Rs676 million was found recoverable due to the illegal removal and sale of exempt goods.
Finally, the PCA team registered a first information report (FIR) for tax evasion under Section 32A of the Customs Act, initiating comprehensive probe to uncover all accomplices involved in this intricate scam that had been ongoing since 2020.
