Supreme Court directs NAB to hold fair probe into missing containers scam
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Wednesday while disposing of the missing containers case, directed the National Accountability Bureau to conduct a thorough and fair investigation into the issue...
March 28, 2012
The three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez, further observed in its order that the relevant quarters had taken cognizance of the issue and were investigating the matter.
The bench also directed for making the Federal Tax Ombudsman's report over the issue a part of the investigation. The bench also called for submission of progress reports fortnightly.
The bench resumed hearing of the suo motu case related to alleged 28,000 missing containers meant for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) forces and the International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) stationed inside Afghanistan.
The bench rejected a request of Raja Muhammad Irshad, counsel for the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), who prayed that the newly appointed chairman Mumtaz Ahmed Rizvi wanted at least four-week time to go through the report submitted with the SC as he had certain reservations over facts and figures.
The Chief Justice told the counsel that they were not conducting the proceedings for the last two years in vain and would not let any authority to undo the exercise.
He said that they would ask the NAB to conduct proceedings, asking them to provide opportunity to the accused under Article 10A related to due process and fair trial.
A NAB official appeared on the court's notice and read out a report regarding investigation requests of the FBR over missing containers cases.
He said that the probe committee of FBR, in its first phase, referred eight complaints to the NAB about 10,1012 containers, involving an amount of Rs 19.098 billion in the shape of alleged evaded duties and taxes.
Subsequently, 13 complaints about 11.979 containers with alleged revenue loss of Rs 22.772 billion and four others related to 6,811 containers were also received from the FBR, he added.
He apprised the court that in addition to these complaints relating to commercial Afghan Transit cargo, a complaint regarding 3,542 non-commercial cargos was also received from the FBR.
He said after receipt of these complaints, the NAB Chairman immediately authorized separate special inquiry teams and the FBR was requested to provide prosecutable evidence on the basis of which cases could be investigated under the National Accountability Ordinance 1999.
The official further said that initially eight complaints from the FBR about 34.76% of the total containers and 34.72% of total estimated loss were taken up and the required documents were obtained from Customs Collectorates concerned at Karachi.
The accused clearing agents, who were examined, claimed by producing Cross Border Certificates that the imported goods by their Afghan clients crossed the border and there was no loss of revenue.
He said the record from the Pakistan Railways and the NLC (National Logestic Cell) was also called to confirm the transportation of the containers to the destinations.
In cases pertained to non-commercial cargo, the notices to 39 clearing agents were issued against which 23 had so far appeared before the inquiry team.
He further said that the Customs Department had started the process of adjudication of the cases and would lead to determine the exact and ultimate level of evasion of taxes in the scam.
The adjudicating officers of Customs Collectorates at Karachi had issued about 11,143 show cause notices involving 28,615 containers to the clearing agents, importers, NLC and others, he added.
During an inquiry, it came on record that out of 28,802 commercial cargo, 6,519 containers were transported through the Pakistan Railways, however, show cause notices were also issued to NLC.
He said that so far no definite prosecutable evidence had been provided by the FBR on the basis of which arrest of the accused persons could be made as it was still in the process of verification.
The NAB official said that the FBR had been requested to provide prosecutable evidences in at least 2,000 containers so that they could initiate investigations but its response was still awaited. (APP)
