FBR uncovers customs fraud at Karachi airport, detects Rs384m in duty evasion

KARACHI: A major customs fraud was uncovered at Karachi airport, where employees of a foreign ground-handling company and corrupt importers allegedly smuggled out high-value electronics without paying duties and taxes, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) said in a statement on Friday.

“Acting on intelligence, authorities seized a consignment worth Rs 103 million, including laptops, iPads, iPhones, MacBooks, PlayStations, and memory cards,” the statement said.

According to FBR, five consignments by a company registered in Dubai were cleared using fake gate passes while being concealed from the Web-Based One Customs (WeBOC) system, resulting in an estimated duty and tax evasion of Rs 384 million.

“Two first information reports (FIRs) have been lodged, employees arrested, and further arrests are expected,” the statement said.

It added that the operation reflected the FBR’s “commitment to safeguarding national revenue”, warning that negligent customs officials would not be spared.

FBR has lately been intensifying its crackdown on tax evasion and smuggling, carrying out a series of operations at ports and airports across the country to safeguard national revenue.

Last month, it emerged that the revenue watchdog launched a “Lifestyle Monitoring Cell” with 40 investigators to scan Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube for signs of tax evasion. Monitoring Desk