KARACHI: Customs authorities have foiled a bid to clear consignments by some fabric importers on basis of fake financial instruments as payment of duty and taxes.
In a statement on Saturday, Model Customs Collectorate (MCC) Port Muhammad Bin Qasim said that importers M/s. Gravity Trading Company, M/s. Iqra Textile and M/s Voroly Impex were required to submit pay order in lieu of provisional assessment of value on the basis of Sindh High Court order dated October 31, 2019 in various petitions.
The importers submitted 43 pay orders amounting Rs63.50 million, in the bank guarantee section of the collectorate as securities.
The collectorate said that the importers were involved in submission of fake pay orders. The phenomenon was detected after scrutiny of the financial instruments, such as printing of same branch code pertaining to different branches of Karachi and Lahore of same bank. The bank has also confirmed the pay orders as fake.
The illegal and fraudulent act, with the active connivance of their clearing agent M/s Kanwal Enterprises and M/s. Welcome Services constituted an offence. Accordingly the GDs of the importers have been blocked.
The collectorate lodged FIR against the importers and their facilitators.
The bank guarantee section has also been directed to be vigilant on submission of the securities along with verification of available and new securities, especially pay orders and bank guarantees.
