Pakistan’s Faceless Customs Assessment (FCA) system, launched last year to curb corruption, has resulted in an estimated revenue loss of Rs100 billion over three months, Dawn reported, citing an internal Pakistan Customs Audit report covering December 16, 2024, to March 15, 2025.
The 161-page audit examined 13,140 goods declarations (GDs) and identified discrepancies in 2,530 cases, indicating gaps in assessment quality and exposing revenue and compliance risks. Of the GDs reviewed, 18 percent were cleared through the green channel, 76 percent through the red channel, and 6 percent through the yellow channel.
The report found Rs5 billion in duty and tax evasion across 1,524 GDs, statutory fines worth Rs2.43 billion left uncollected, and clearance of restricted goods valued at Rs10.54 billion in 1,006 GDs, including violations of intellectual property regulations. Non-framing of contravention cases on GDs involving duty or tax evasion of Rs1 million or more added to a potential loss of Rs30.364 billion.
The audit highlighted instances of fiscal fraud, including cancellation of assessed or finalised GDs to evade duty and taxes, and fraudulent clearance of 54 solar panel containers through unauthorised tax numbers, exploiting gaps in the FCA system.
A case cited in the report involved a used Toyota Land Cruiser, imported at a declared value of Rs10 million instead of the actual cost, pointing to potential trade-based money laundering. Officials noted that front-end facilitation under FCA, particularly the green channel—now covering nearly 60 percent of imports and 85 percent of exports—has reduced the effectiveness of pre-clearance checks.
Discrepancies included misclassification of HS codes, undervaluation of goods, misuse of exemptions, and short payment of sales tax. Post-clearance audits revealed repeated filing of GDs with misdeclarations, allowing importers to evade duties and fines while avoiding detection.
The audit also found that 28 GDs for solar panel imports in December 2024–February 2025 were processed under different and unauthorised National Tax Numbers, despite some importers having prior arrests in similar cases, indicating systemic lapses.
