Customs officials in Karachi are under investigation for allegedly selling hundreds of high-end smuggled vehicles, worth billions, by misclassifying them as ‘auctioned vehicles’. The scandal involves a network of customs officials, car dealers, and influential individuals who colluded to bypass legal duties and taxes, Business Recorder reported.
As per the report, smuggled or non-duty-paid (NPD) vehicles, which should have been auctioned after paying the necessary duties, were instead sold directly in the market. The fraudulent sale was carried out with the involvement of customs officials who manipulated data in the customs system.
The issue came to light following a report sent by the Directorate General of Reforms & Automation (Customs), Karachi, on July 9, 2025, to the Customs Operations Wings (COW). The report highlighted systematic data manipulation within the WeBOC system, where hundreds of smuggled vehicles were fraudulently entered as “auctioned vehicles” by using the user IDs of Assistant Collectors and Deputy Collectors.
The Directorate’s investigation covered over 1,900 smuggled/NPD vehicles, with around 350 high-end vehicles having been illegally sold without paying duties or taxes. These vehicles were later falsely entered into the system as auctioned, allowing them to be registered with provincial excise departments. This process has rendered the vehicles legally registered, complicating any attempt at confiscation.
Although a female Deputy Collector has been suspended in connection with the case, sources argue that this widespread scandal, involving around 350 vehicles, could not have been facilitated by a single officer.
They emphasize the need for the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to address systemic issues within the customs department before taking action against car dealers and buyers who may have unknowingly purchased the vehicles.
