Customs detects tax evasion by bidder at Port Qasim

Pakistan Customs Collectorate has found that forged documents were used to evade hundreds of thousands of rupees in income tax by a bidder in the bidding of an import consignment at the Port Qasim who was taken into custody.

Sources told The Express Tribune that a consignment of steel sheets came for clearance at the Port Qasim Customs Collectorate in February 2020 which was not cleared due to certain reasons.

On the completion of the prescribed statutory period, the consignment was put up for auction by the Collectorate authorities in March 2022 under Section 82 of the Customs Act.

Sources said that a man, named Abdul Basit, won the bid against Rs10 million.

He also had to pay another Rs1million in terms of 10% income tax, but he deposited only Rs100,000 and forged the receipt
to make it read Rs1 million.

After the auctioned steel sheets had been delivered, the Collectorate authorities detected underpayment of the tax on a tip-off.

They registered a case against the accused for causing a financial loss to the national exchequer and launched investigations.

They also obtained physical remand of Abdul Basit from the court, so that legal action could be taken against more people involved in this case of forgery and tax evasion.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 30^th, 2022.