Indus Gazette
KARACHI: Model Customs Collectorate West Karachi has booked Nasir Hussain, owner of M/s Metallurgy International, Muhammad Anwar, proprietor of M/s Trishmir Imports and Shabbir Ahmed, Manager of M/s Trishmir Imports and other in tax evasion amounting over 5 million by production of allegedly fake and manipulated documents to the customs authorities. The role of Laboratory, Courier Company and other accomplices shall be ascertained during the course of the investigation.
A credible information was received that M/s Metallurgy International (NTN: 3604946) office no. 1, 2 & 3 Survey TL23/1, Tin Plate Market, Bhimpura, Karachi along with his Customs clearing agent M/s Trishmir Imports (Agent License No. KCUS-619) 404,405 Qamar House, M.A Jinnah Road, Karachi are found involved in mis-declaration of description/ classification and production of allegedly fake/ manipulated to the customs authorities.
According to the documents available with Indus Gazette, M/s Metallurgy International is an importer and exporter and wholesaler of steel products with a pattern of clearing such goods through into bond GDs where the goods description is finalized after testing of goods through laboratory.
However, it was informed that the importer with the connivance of customs clearing agent were involved in manipulating samples and their reports in order to clear goods under HS codes 7225.1900 attracting zero percent custom duty and additional custom duty whereas the goods are actually classifiable under HS code 7209.1610 that attracts higher duty rate i.e. 20 percent with anti dumping duty. Accordingly the following four goods declarations were scrutinized and samples were drawn from public bond M/s Meezan Enterprises in the presence of custodian of the in-bonded goods and Shabbir Ahmed, Manager of M/s Trishmir Imports.
The samples were forwarded to A.Q Khan Lab to ascertain actual description and material composition of the warehoused goods through All vide letter dated 02.02.2022 and a subsequent reminder to this effect was also issued on 17.03.2022. Surprisingly, two reports having different results were received (to be referred hereander as netual reports and allegedly manipulated reports, having different specifientions of the goods that were tested in AQ Khan Labortary.
Constituent material of the two reports is entirely different where one report seems to be concocted and tailor made in the favour of importer. The allegedly manipulated reports are addressed to Additional Collector Appraising Intelligence Branch, Collectorate of customs Appraisement West, Karachi whereas the letters for testing and their reminder was issued by Deputy Collector Appraising Intelligence Branch, Collectorate of customs Appraisement West, Karachi and no correspondence from the office of Additional Collector was made to the AQ Khan labortary. Prima facie signatures as well as stamps in both the test reports were same.
In view of above, it was clearly evident that Nasir Hussain, the owner of M/s Metallurgy International in active connivance of Muhammad Anwar, the proprietor of M/s Trishmir and Shabbir Ahmed, the manager of M/s Trishmir along with their accomplices, abettors and facilitators attempted to clandestinely hoodwink the customs authorities and provided allegedly manipulated and forged import documents/ test reports to the customs authorities and deprived the government exchequer of legitimate duties and taxes to the tune to Rs. 5,150,047, where the assessed customs value of goods amount to Rs. 32,630,875, hence a case has been registered against all of them and other. The role of Laboratory, Courier Company and other accomplices shall be ascertained during the course of the investigation.
