Importing liquor under cover of soft drinks: customs initiates action against foreign missions, embassies

Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation Customs have launched a countywide action against those foreign missions and embassies allegedly involved in massive mis-declarations to import liquor or high tariff goods under the cover of diplomatic consignments, declaring soft drinks and other items. It is reliably learnt on Sunday that the Customs intelligence in Karachi has unearthed unique kind of cases involving some embassies which were involved in import of liquor by mis-declaring the imported consignments under the name of other products to evade the customs authorities.
The agency has recently unearthed a scam where embassy imported liquor under the cover of soft drinks and now the agency would expand the scope of the investigation to check whether such kinds of mis-declarations have been done by other embassies. It is apprehended that the diplomatic facility has been misused to import liquor in Pakistan by mis-declaring the contents in the Goods Declarations. As diplomatic consignments are normally released by the Customs without any physical examination, the diplomatic facility seemed to be massively misused in certain cases.
Details revealed that acting upon a credible information regarding smuggling of huge quantity of foreign origin beer and wine by an Embassy in Islamabad by mis-declaring its description under the guise of imports of soft drinks and by misusing exemption certificate issued by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the staff of Customs Intelligence put hold on container No WHLU-2456460 (1x20') at PICT East Wharf Karachi.
The Embassy upto the level of Ambassador were repeatedly approached by the Customs Intelligence to depute representative to witness the examination. Although online goods declaration through unique user ID was filed by the Embassy itself, but they did not depute any representative to witness the examination. The Customs Intelligence in a very transparent manner examined the container on June 15, 2013, in presence of representative of Chamber of Commerce & Industry Karachi, clearing agent, surveyor of PICT and officials/Officers of MCC PACCS. The examination led to the recovery of 10,000 ctns containing 24,000 cans of alcoholic beer and 24 bottles of wine of foreign origin instead of soft drinks as was declared in goods declaration and exemption certificates. The recovered undeclared smuggled goods along with documents have been seized by the Customs Intelligence under the Customs Act 1969.
Investigation revealed that the embassy has been involved in such kind of malpractice for the past few years, an identical container was intercepted by the customs intelligence in the past where from undeclared whisky and liquor was recovered. It has been reported that certain embassies are involved in the business of selling liquor in the market and has developed this practice as a business, it has been further reported that some embassies and foreign missions are involved in the smuggling of contraband and high tariff goods under the garb of diplomatic consignments which are normally released by the customs without any examination and the diplomats also enjoy immunity from any criminal proceedings, sources added.