[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text dp_text_size=”size-4″]Frequent instances of products being stolen from Customs warehouses and those run by the Directorate General, Intelligence & Investigation-Customs have drawn the attention of the Federal Tax Omdurman (FTO).
The Director of Intelligence and Investigation (I&I)-Customs, Karachi, was given a reprimand by the FTO on Thursday for allegedly stealing fittings and auto parts from a seized vehicle while it was in their care.
The complainant claimed that the Directorate of (I&I)-Customs, Karachi, had acted arbitrarily and improperly by misappropriating and stealing the dashboard, valuable auto parts, accessories, and tyres from the complainant’s vehicle while it was in their custody.
Also Read: Driving tests will be necessary for Pakistani visa holders in Australia.
Later, when the offending car was still parked there, the complainant went up to the store owner. Everything that was supposed to be in the Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation-Customs, Karachi’s actual possession, including fixtures, vehicle components, and accessories like tyres, turned out to be missing. This means that everything was clearly misappropriated, stolen, or lost.
According to the FTO order, the Director General, (I&I)-Customs, Islamabad should make sure that adequate security measures and equipment are placed to cover the warehouses to reduce the likelihood of theft.
The FTO further ordered the Director General of I&I-Customs in Islamabad to personally conduct an investigation into the Director, officers, and staff of the Directorate of l&l Customs in Karachi for failing to follow the legal warehousing procedure, failing to keep proper records, inventories, inspections, and stock taking in the present case, and taking disciplinary action against the officers and staff found to be at fault under E&D Rules, 2020.
Additionally, the FTO has suggested that the Director General of (I&I)-Customs in Islamabad give the complaint compensation equal to the loss sustained as a result of theft and the removal of parts from the vehicle, as determined by any mutually agreed-upon third party.
The car involved in the case, which was impounded at the time of seizure and brought into custody by the Directorate and parked within the Directorate’s State Warehouse, was described as being in perfect working order in the FTO order. It is now completely dysfunctional and fundamentally broken. The Directorate has not refuted this fact.
The Directorate will assume responsibility for the vehicle’s safe custody and eventual appearance before any court upon the vehicle’s seizure pursuant to Section 157 of the Customs Act, 1969.
The State Warehouse is subject to severe regulations outlined in the Customs Laws and announced in CGQ 12/2002, dated June 15, 2002, as set forth in Chapter-IX, Paragraphs 32–33 ibid.
The aforementioned procedure calls for taking an accurate inventory that includes all relevant information, safe custody, regular stocktakes, and periodic inspections by senior administration. In this case, the Directorate neither asserted nor provided documentary proof, which supports the theory that the vehicle was left unattended and without adequate security on the premises of the Warehouse. FTO order added that the Directorate’s inventory was utterly hazy, ambiguous, and lacking.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
