FIR Filed Against M/s Farid Traders for Mis-declaration to Avoid Customs Duties
Karachi: The Collectorate of Customs Appraisement West has lodged a First Information Report (FIR) against M/s Farid Traders for mis-declaring imported items just to avoid customs duties in accordance. with law.
M/s Farid Traders, House No. 3761, Mughla PO, Chowk Yadgar, Peshawar, and 25, MID City Mall, Murree Road, Rawalpindi, filed Goods Declaration No. KAPW-HC-80790-25-11-2024 and declared a consignment clearance by claiming that the goods imported consisted of 21,610 assorted jackets at $0.25 each, aggregating $5,402 in approximate terms or PKR 1,534,012.
On instructions from Collector Naveed Elahi, Deputy Collector R&D Saima Butt ordered an investigation. Officials inspected the shipment on 29 November 2024 which indicated major discrepancies between declared goods and actual goods.
The detailed packing list and physical inspection disclosed mis- declaration by M/s Farid Traders especially as the men ‘s and boys. jackets declared were substituted with children’s jackets of lower valuation.
The mis-declaration initially resulted in an estimated duty and tax of Rs 7,799,399. However, after doing a proper valuation based on 2023 customs rulings (Nos. 1776 and 1777), this resulted in duties and taxes being calculated at Rs 9,981,299, which showed an attempt at evasion of Rs 2,181,900 in duties.
Customs officials explained that such mis-declarations, where adult clothing is declared as children’s clothing, are becoming more common as a method of evading duties. To prevent this, the officials suggested that valuation should also consider the weight of the clothing.
According to Section 79(1) of the Customs Act, 1969, declarations have to be accurate and. hence, due to M/s Farid Traders’ inability to do so along with their intent to cheat the customs department and evade the duties, the FIR was registered.
