Lahore: The Pakistan Customs Collectorate Preventive team raided a godown in Lahore, seizing imported cloth weighing 60 tons, worth approximately Rs100 million.
Jawwad Owais Agha, the collector MCC (Preventive) constituted a team under the deputy collector, anti-smuggling, to conduct a raid. This operation was successfully carried out with the help of FBR Chairman, Shabbar Zaidi.
“A huge quantity of smuggled high-quality fabrics had been brought into the city and stored in a private place located in the area of Delhi Gate,” Irfan Ali, a customs spokesman added.
The godown owner failed to provide any import documents to support the recovered cloth, hence was seized under the provisions of law.
Illegal traders are becoming larger, more innovative, and faster in their efforts day by day. This is one of the reasons as to why Pakistan continues to suffer from low tax revenue, a difficult growth path, and failure to attract investment across various formal sectors.
A 2015 confidential report of the FBR revealed that Pakistan was losing a staggering $2.63 billion worth of revenue a year due to smuggling of just 11 goods, which were making their way through the porous borders and, more alarmingly, through high seas and containerized cargo with full support of the state machinery.
