Many lost NATO tankers ‘have not reached checkpoint’

FBR says the matter is still under investigation.

ISLAMABAD:

The case of the 19,000 ‘missing’ Nato containers en-route to Kabul has taken an intriguing turn, with Quetta customs stating that “many containers have not reached the checkpoint.”

The case has become the second high-profile scandal involving containers, after the Afghanistan commercial cargo scam, in which about 28,000 commercial containers went missing between January 2007 and December 2010, siphoning off Rs55 billion in duty in the process.

An official from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) told The Express Tribune that the Customs Collectorate Quetta reported the irregularities to FBR headquarters. Quetta customs said that “many containers were found missing from the official record,” the official said.

The FBR had initially sent a list of almost 13,000 containers to Quetta after finding that the transportation documents of these containers were either missing or incomplete.

However, the FBR official was quick to emphasise that it is too early to draw any clear conclusions about the containers, and that the issue was highly sensitive. He also said a list of about 6,000 containers was also sent to Peshawar customs. A formal response is expected later this week.

To further their investigations, the FBR has sent notices to 36 clearing agents, asking for any evidence they may have on suspicious Nato transactions. The official said that the FBR is yet to formally approach Nato or the International Security Assistant Forces, preferring to wait for more evidence before taking action.

If Pakistan approach Nato regarding the containers, it would be the second time in two years, the first coming in 2010 after a private news channel claimed that thousands of Nato containers had gone missing. Nato subsequently clarified that none of its containers were missing.

The FBR has not yet submitted a report to the Supreme Court but will do so at the next hearing of the case. Following the enquiry, the FBR will also investigate US transit cargo. From January 2007 to December 2010 around 150,000 US containers came through Pakistani ports, the FBR official said.

Salman Siddique, chairman of the FBR, said that the issue of the missing containers was discussed at the last board-in-council meeting, which is the highest policymaking body of the FBR. He added that the matter was still under investigation.

Nato and the US have over recent years found alternative routes to supply foreign troops in Afghanistan, including routes through central Asia. However most supplies for the forces, which number around 140,000, still go through Pakistan.

The FBR found that over 28,000 containers had gone missing during the Afghanistan commercial cargo scam. Following this, the board sent notices to the National Logistic Cell, which included transporters, importers, clearing agents and border agents. So far, the FBR has forwarded 190 cases to be registered as criminal cases.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2011.