• Audit reveals widespread discrepancies, tax evasion, underinvoicing, solar panel money laundering scam
• Report warns green channel clearances shrinking scope of pre-clearance controls

ISLAMABAD: The Faceless Customs Assessment (FCA) system, inaugurated by the prime minister last year in Karachi to combat corruption, has incurred a revenue loss of about Rs100 billion in three months.

This was revealed in a detailed analysis by the Pakistan Customs Audit — an internal arrangement of the Federal Board of Revenue — spanning December 16, 2024 to March 15, 2025.

“The scrutiny of 13,140 goods declarations (GDs) led to detection of several discrepancies in 2,530 GDs that raise serious concerns about quality of assessments, indicating revenue and compliance risks,” said the 161-page report, which did not cover 100pc operations.

Of the reviewed GDs, the audit looked into 18pc cleared through the green channel, 76pc through the red channel, and 6pc through the yellow channel, highlighting weaknesses of the system, inefficiency of the human resource, under/overinvoicing, as well as widespread trade-based money laundering.

In some cases, importers of solar panels imported shipments in 2023 and brought containers for clearance more than a year later, prima facie having advance knowledge of the launch of the faceless system.

The audit found duty/tax evasion of Rs5 billion in 1,524 GDs, alongside loss of statutory fines worth Rs2.43bn, besides clearance of restricted goods valued at Rs10.54bn in 1,006 GDs, in violation of intellectual property conditions.

Another potential revenue loss of........

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