ISAF containers scam: FBR suspends 22 customs officers

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has suspended 22 customs officers, including six senior customs officials of Grade-18, with immediate effect in ISAF containers scam. In this regard, the FBR issued three notifications here on Saturday. The suspended officials include a Deputy Commissioner of Regional Tax Office, Karachi, Deputy Collectors, Principal Appraisers and Appraisers.
Official sources told Business Recorder that FBR has initiated penal action against the officials on the recommendations of the Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation.
In Lunar case, the involved customs officers allegedly failed to prevent wrong clearance of 52 containers laden with liquor, and a 'fact finding committee' was constituted to frustrate the course of investigation by Director General (Intelligence and Investigation). The then DG (Intelligence & Investigation), Lutfullah Virk, had investigated a massive fraud involving 52 containers imported in the name of ISAF by two Afghan companies: Lunar Products of Kabul (49), and KOPCKE Global of Kabul (3).
At that time, the intelligence agency had asked the Collectors to investigate the matter to ascertain facts about the containers missing from database of the Pakistan Revenue Automaton Limited (PRAL). Sources said that FIRs have already been registered against the concerned importers, and statements of the involved persons had been record, but action has now been taken against the officials allegedly involved in the case under investigation. According to FBR notification, the competent authority has placed six officials of Pakistan Customs Service (Grade-18) under suspension with immediate effect and until further orders.
The officials include Jamshed Ali Talpur, Deputy Commissioner (PCS/BS-18), RTO, Karachi; Engr Habib Ahmad, Deputy Collector (PCS/BS-18), Model Customs Collectorate (MCC) Pakistan Customs Computerised System (PACCS), Karachi; Mona Iffat Baloch, Deputy Director (PCS/BS-18), Valuation (Customs), Karachi; Abdul Waheed Marwat, Second Secretary (PCS/BS-18), FBR, Islamabad; Sami ul Haq, Deputy Director (PCS/BS-18), I & I-FBR, Karachi and Yousaf Haider Orakzai, Second Secretary (PCS/BS-18), FBR, Islamabad.
Through another notification, the FBR has suspended four Principal Appraisers of Pakistan Customs Service with immediate effect and until further orders. The officers are: Agha Muahmmad Aslam, Principal Appraiser (PCS/BS-16), Appraisement, Karachi; Sardar Amin Farooqi, Principal Appraiser (PCS/BS-16), Appraisement, Karachi; Niamatullah Alvi, Principal Appraiser (PCS/BS-16), Appraisement, Karachi and S M Wasim Qazmi, Principal Appraiser (PCS/BS-16), Appraisement, Karachi.
The FBR issued a third notification to suspend 12 Appraisers of Pakistan Customs Service. The suspended officers include Tariq Aziz, Appraiser (BS-15), MCC of Preventive, Karachi; Abdul Aziz Umrani, PCA, Karachi; Ghulam Muhammad, Appraiser (BS-15), MCC of Appraisement, Karachi; Sikandar Ali Junejo, Appraiser (BS-15), PCA, Karachi; Basher Ahmad Sehar, Appraiser (BS-15), MCC of Exports, Karachi; Abbas Khan, Appraiser (BS-15), MCC of Appraisement, Karachi; Anjum Barakzai, Appraiser (BS-15), MCC of Appraisement, Karachi; Anwar Khan, Appraiser (BS-15), MCC of Exports, Karachi; Nawab Touqir Ahmad, Appraiser (BS-15), MCC of Preventive, Karachi; Munir Ahmad Barohi, Appraiser (BS-15), MCC of Appraisement, Karachi; Qaiser Nadeem Chattha, Appraiser (BS-15), MCC of Appraisement, Karachi and Noor Akbar Mehar, Appraiser (BS-15), MCC of Appraisement, Karachi. It may be recalled that former member Custom Munir Qureshi had conducted a press conference in 2010 to update the media about the investigation and progress on the Lunar case.