ISLAMABAD: Custom collectors, allegedly involved in a valuation scam at Quetta, have raised questions over the valuation powers of the Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation (I&I) under Section-25 of the Customs Act, 1969.
Sources said that the probe committee, constituted to probe the customs valuation scam allegedly committed in Quetta Customs during 2015 to 2021, has began receiving replies from the accused officers.
In one such reply submitted before the probe committee, an accused ex-officer has claimed that the Customs Intelligence is not empowered to exercise the power of valuation under the said Act.
“According to the accused officer, it would have been better if the Directorate of Customs I&I had assessed the seized goods from the respective appraisement authorities instead of assessing the seized goods on their own,” sources said while citing the former collector’s reply.
The accused officer has stated in his reply that the high ups, including former DG of Customs (Valuation) had authorised the collector Quetta to fix values as per provisions of Section 25-A of the Customs Act, 1969, and that the issue was settled after the Balochistan High Court (BHC) and FBR’s decision dated October 7, 2021.
The accused collector has reportedly stated that certain characteristics of imported goods were not taken into account and the valuation department made the values determined by them liable to revision, therefore, he like others before him chose to ignore the assessable values determined by the department and instead assessed the imported goods at low values.
“On the other hand, the case of the intelligence department is that the collectors of Quetta illegally exercised the powers of DG Valuation in revising values substantially downwards,” sources added.
Customs Intelligence has detected revenue losses worth billions of rupees alleged to be caused by the Collectors’ assessment of imported goods at nominal, arbitrary and very low values compared to the much higher assessable values determined by the director of Customs Valuation and in the field, at the time of questioned assessments.
The intelligence department claims that it’s officers, in exercise of their powers, can lawfully initiate proceedings under the Custom Act and that valuation cases made by them are lawful.
It is pertinent to note that the DG Valuation is the only competent authority to revise downwards the values determined by the director Valuation.
Sources close to development said that the accused collector’s reply depicts a plethora of criminal offences committed at Quetta Customs due to the collusion of collectors with importers and clearing agents during the last five years. However, the accused has reportedly taken the position that he was not a party to many of those offences as these had been committed before or after his tenure.
It is pertinent to note that FBR has tasked a four member fact finding committee constituted under the chairmanship of DG Post Clearance Audit Seema Raza Bukhari to ascertain the validity of allegedly illegal assessed values of goods imported during the 2015 and 2021.
Sources said that the tax department has also extended the probing time on the request of fact finding committee members that had ended in the second week of this month.
