The theft and embezzlement of confiscated goods in the customs warehouses by the customs staff is one of the biggest heads of money-making for the customs officers.
According to sources, fraud and misuse of stored goods have been happening for years without interruption. This is because the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) hasn’t made it a legal requirement to regularly audit customs warehouses on purpose.
When reports of this scam began coming in, the FBR implemented a step that essentially avoids detecting the theft of billions of rupees already carried out in customs warehouses nationwide.
Instead of ordering an inspection of the customs storage facilities nationwide, the Federal Board of Revenue, upon receiving complaints, has instructed the customs field units to create new procedures for conducting raids on private storage facilities and moving confiscated goods from these facilities to the customs storage areas without providing any instructions to uncover the amount of misappropriation already carried out by customs officers in the customs storage areas over the years.
Reports indicate that there have been complaints within the board about customs officials conducting surprise raids on private warehouses located within city limits during the early morning hours when owners are absent. They then transfer the confiscated goods to customs warehouses without properly documenting what has been seized.
However, when the owners of private godowns present the import documents justifying the legal import of goods seized from their godowns, significantly fewer quantities and numbers are returned to the lawful owners of godowns, according to complaints.
