The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has compulsorily retired Muhammad Ali Pechohu, an Inspector of Customs, following a serious revenue loss caused by his failure to declare a consignment of fruit from Afghanistan properly, Business Recorder reported.
Pechohu, who was serving at the Collectorate of Customs Appraisement in Quetta, was placed under suspension after disciplinary proceedings were initiated under the Civil Servants (Efficiency & Discipline Rules), 2020. The charges against him included inefficiency and misconduct.
The case involved the under-declaration of a consignment that included 18,000 kilograms of grapes and 5,000 kilograms of plums. Upon re-examination, the actual weight was found to be significantly higher, 2,934 kilograms of grapes and 20,784 kilograms of plums. This misreporting resulted in a potential loss of Rs2 million in revenue.
FBR officials confirmed that despite explicit instructions to conduct a thorough examination, Pechohu had submitted the report based solely on the goods declaration (GD) without conducting a physical inspection. The officer admitted to submitting the examination report in good faith but failed to inspect the goods due to site limitations.
However, the officer’s claim that the discrepancy could have occurred due to pilferage during transit 30 kilometres from the initial examination point was rejected, as no supporting evidence was provided.
As a result of his actions, FBR imposed the major penalty of compulsory retirement under the Civil Servants (E&D) Rules, 2020.
