But sources in the Customs I&I department claimed that there were a total of 330 vehicles valuing at Rs7 billion that were imported to Pakistan. They said so far only 26 vehicles had been recovered.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Shaukat Ali, a grade-21 officer, was serving as director general of the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) Directorate General of Intelligence & Investigation (DG I&I) since October 2016.
However, he was shown the door on Monday when his case was to be considered for promotion to grade 22 - the highest pay scale - by Prime Minister Imran Khan. The High Powered Board met on Monday and reviewed cases for promotion to the next grade from various service cadres.
According to a notification issued by the FBR, Ali has been transferred as a member FBR headquarters. The transfer as a member of the FBR headquarters without a portfolio is considered a punishment.
In his place, the government has given the look after charge to Iram Maqbool Aamir. Aamir is a grade-20 officer and is currently serving as director I&I in the FBR Headquarters.
Action against Qatari vehicles ‘unilateral, controversial’
Shaukat Ali was allegedly facing pressure to release vehicles that had been confiscated from the premises of former senator Saif-ur-Rehman, said sources in the FBR. Ali had again been advised to release the vehicles on Friday by the FBR Chairman Jehanzeb Khan.
Despite repeated attempts, the FBR chairman did not respond to questions about the transfer. Shaukat Ali also declined to comment on the issue. When contacted, the FBR spokesman Dr Mohammad Iqbal, however, said: “It is a routine transfer and not due to any specific issue”.
Last month, the Customs intelligence seized 26 non-customs-paid luxury vehicles of the Qatari royal family from the compound of a textile mill in the suburbs of Islamabad. These vehicles were apparently brought into the country for hunting purposes.
The vehicles were parked in Saif-ur-Rehman’s premises in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, according to a report published in Arab News. The newspaper had reported that Qatar Embassy in Islamabad had announced that the vehicles belonged to Qatari Prince Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim Jabr Al-Thani.
But sources in the Customs I&I department claimed that there were a total of 330 vehicles valuing at Rs7 billion that were imported to Pakistan. They said so far only 26 vehicles had been recovered.
The Customs Intelligence claimed that about Rs4.5 billion duties were involved in this case and there was extreme pressure on the Customs Intelligence DG to hush up the matter.
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They said the criminal and adjudication proceedings in this case have already begun. Their view was that the person who imported the vehicles in Pakistan was not entitled to duty-free imports.
There have been growing incidents of removing officials from their positions after their refusal to comply with verbal directives of the higher-ups.
The PM’s Office has also intervened in routine transfer posting matters of the FBR, which is contrary to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s (PTI) promise to free the bureaucracy from the political pressures.
DG Intelligence, Inland Revenues
Meanwhile, the federal government on Monday also notified powers and functions of the Directorate General of Intelligence & Investigation of Inland Revenue Services.
It has placed 54 officers on the strength of the directorate, also retaining Shad Muhammad as its director general. The directorate of Inland Revenues Intelligence and Directorate Customs Intelligence are two distinct arms of the FBR.
A few months back, the courts struck down a notification of the directorate general of the Inland Revenues intelligence as the directorate had been created without legal cover. Now, through the Finance Act 2018, the federal government has given legal cover to the Inland Revenue directorate.
The I&I Inland Revenue director general has been authorised to “carry out intelligence activities and intelligence gathering oral tax related issuing including under reporting, tax evasion, tax fraud and revenue leakages,” said the FBR notification.
The directorate will also have powers to collect third party information and details of persons who are involved in such activities. It has been given powers to raid business premises and monitor production facilities under the Sales Tax Act of 1990.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 30th, 2018.
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