Federal ombudsman orders inquiry into bribe allegations against Customs officials

ISLAMABAD: The federal ombudsman has directed Customs Intelligence and Investigation to conduct a detailed inquiry against officials into an allegation of them taking a bribe of Rs250,000 for clearing perishable goods.

As per details, the federal ombudsman has ordered for the inquiry to be completed within one month and directed for strict action against the said officials if they are found to be guilty.

In addition, the agency has also advised to refund an amount of Rs295,596 to the complainant within 30 days.  

A document in this regard states that the complainant, Mansoor Ahmad, took the plea before the ombudsman that Major (r) Majid took Rs250,000 from him when he visited the office for the first time.

The complainant said that he had no knowledge as to who the boss is and thought that Majid was the boss. He had requested an early seizure report so that he can pay the taxes and get his goods released but was told that he would have to wait for two months if he wants it early or pay Rs250,000 which will be distributed among all the staff. 

The document states that the cash was paid in front of the office gate, detailing that Majid accepted Rs70,000 in front of Deputy Director Customs Ali Asad because his perishable goods were involved.

It is pertinent to note that the Directorate of I&I Customs, Range Office, Gujrawala seized foreign origin Melamine Resin 17,740 Kg along with Truck No. TKL 257 from Quetta and forwarded the case to the adjudicating authority on October 15, 2019, for confiscation of the goods and vehicle whereas the claimant of the vehicle was given the option to to redeem the same on payment of redemption fine of 20 per cent of the accessible value.

In the light of the above judgment, the claimant of the vehicle deposited the redemption fine amounting to Rs295,596 as assessed by the MCC Sambrial in the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) on October 22, 2019.

Later, the appellate tribunal Lahore was directed to release the goods against a bank guarantee equivalent to the department of duty and taxes along with the security of Rs200,000.