The Federal Tax Ombudsman has detected what it describes as an organised scam involving the import and clearance of an iPhone 16, and has directed the Federal Board of Revenue to investigate the alleged role of FedEx, Customs officials, and private individuals to determine whether similar frauds have occurred elsewhere in the country.
In an order released Tuesday, Federal Tax Ombudsman Zafar Hijazi observed that the case pointed to a coordinated scheme through which a lawful consignee was deprived of his duty-paid mobile phone for more than a year and a half, despite having paid all applicable taxes.
The complaint was filed by Muhammad Nausherwan Khan, who said his sister in Canada had sent him an iPhone 16 Plus through FedEx in December 2024. After the handset arrived in Karachi, he paid a PTA tax of Rs138,526 but alleged the phone was never delivered to him. He later discovered that a forged authority letter had allegedly been used to release the device to another individual.
During proceedings, Customs maintained that the phone had been released after verifying the original detention receipt, invoice, and other documents presented by a clearing agent. The Ombudsman, however, questioned why the complainant, whose name appeared as the consignee on the import documents, was denied possession despite personally approaching Customs authorities.
The FTO found that while the consignee’s name remained unchanged in the tracking records and import documents, the address and contact details had allegedly been substituted with those of another person in the airway bill and invoice. Hijazi said such manipulation pointed to an organized scam and that the modus operandi could not be overlooked.
Although the complainant later informed the Ombudsman that his grievance had been resolved, the FTO opted to continue pursuing the broader issue, saying the suspected scam warranted a thorough investigation in the public interest.
The Ombudsman recommended that the FBR direct the Chief Collector of Customs (Airports) to launch a targeted inquiry into FedEx, obtain courier import data from January 2025 to June 2026 to identify similar cases, investigate the alleged use of forged authority letters, examine the role of any Customs officials who may have facilitated the scam, and initiate legal and disciplinary proceedings where warranted. The FTO also recommended introducing a uniform standard operating procedure for courier clearances at all international airports.
