ISLAMABAD: The retailers engaged in the selling of smuggled goods would be heavily penalised and imprisoned under the anti-smuggling measure taken in Budget 2021-22. Through the Finance Bill 2021, the FBR has included "retailing" in definition of smuggling to discourage retailers from selling smuggled goods. The FBR has sought powers to confiscate such smuggled goods being sold by the retailers.
Moreover, customs officials can impose penalty of 10 times the value of the goods or imprisonment up to six years and to a fine not exceeding 10 times the value of such goods.
Tax experts told Business Recorder that the documentation measure of seeking computerised national identity card numbers of the un-registered remained failed in the past. The enforcement of this new anti-smuggling measure on national level would be an uphill task for the Customs Department.
The government has already drafted the Covid-19 (Prevention of Smuggling) Ordinance, 2020, to empower the law enforcement agencies and the customs to impose heavy fines on smugglers of foreign currency, gold/silver, precious stones, sugar, onions, pulses, salt, potatoes, gur, rice, wheat/flour, chemical fertilisers, livestock, maize, edible oil, and therapeutic goods.
Besides strengthening the existing laws with respect to smuggling of food commodities and essential articles, there is also a need for a stringent legislation to discourage smuggling and ensure their availability in the domestic market to the general public for their consumption in these difficult times.
The said Ordinance is applicable on the smuggling of following items: Foreign currency, gold/silver, precious stones, sugar, onions, pulses, salt, potatoes, gur, rice, wheat/flour, chemical fertilisers, livestock, maize, edible oil and therapeutic goods as defined in Section 2 of the DRAP Act, 2012.
The following law enforcement agencies have been notified to exercise the powers of officer conferred under Section 2(g) of the Ordinance within their jurisdictions: Frontier Corps Balochistan (North/South); Frontier Corps Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (North/South); Pakistan Rangers (Punjab); Pakistan Rangers (Sindh); officers of Pakistan Coast Guard; Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Police; Balochistan Police, Balochistan Levies; the Inter-Services Intelligence; Military Intelligence; Intelligence Bureau; Federal Investigation Agency, and the Frontier Constabulary.
The bill seeks to curb the menace of smuggling of food and other essential commodities with exemplary punishments to create an effective deterrence in the emergent situation resulting from the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the FBR added.
Under the proposed penalty regime for retailers, if any person without lawful excuse, the proof of which shall be on such person, acquires possession of, or is in any way concerned in carrying, removing, depositing, harbouring, keeping or retailing, or in any manner dealing with smuggled goods or any goods in respect to which there may be reasonable suspicion that they are smuggled goods, such goods shall be liable to confiscation and any person concerned in the offence shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding 10 times the value of the goods; and, where the value of such goods exceeds Rs300,000, he shall further be liable, upon conviction by a special judge, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six years and to a fine not exceeding 10 times the value of such goods.
Other anti-smuggling measures included making shipping lines responsible for re-export of banned items imported in commercial quantities, increasing the pitch of fine in case of non-placement of invoice and packing list in container to inculcate compliance and discouraging smuggling by denying release of vehicles used repeatedly for smuggling against redemption fine.
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