Senate panel questions FBR over cigarette theft worth Rs250 million, rejects internal inquiry findings

The Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control expressed serious reservations over the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) handling of the disappearance of cigarettes worth Rs250 million from FBR warehouses in Swabi and Mardan.

FBR officials told the committee that officers could not be placed on the Exit Control List (ECL) before legal proceedings were completed and that investigative agencies required departmental permission before initiating inquiries against FBR officials.

Committee members rejected the stance, saying accountability institutions should be allowed to work independently. They also criticised the FBR’s internal inquiry, which held a watchman, a peon and a driver responsible despite no signs of forced entry at the warehouses.

The committee chairman informed members that the FIA inquiry had identified a deputy collector, two officials and two inspectors as allegedly involved. FIA officials said the case was still under inquiry and had been transferred to the Islamabad Zone.

FBR officials said they could not confirm whether the committee’s earlier recommendation to place the suspects on the ECL had been implemented, adding that the matter fell under the FIA’s authority. The FIA said it would verify the status.