Staff Report
ISLAMABAD:
National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has asked Chief Collector of Customs and Chairman Port Qasim Authority (PQA) to direct officer to appear and submit documents pertain to agreement with M/s QICT Pakistan, annual returns, sales tax, audit & inspection, foreign direct investment etc.
Well-informed sources disclosed to NewsLite that NAB Karachi has been probing a scandal worth approximately Rs 600 billion at Port Qasim and it has requested the Chairman PQA & the Chief Collector of Customs to assign officer to appear before NAB and submit concerned documents/records to the Case Officer. They said that interior ministry had not granted security clearance to two Indian citizens named as Rizwan Sultan Ali Somar and Devang Minkodi. But, the two Indians approached the Port Qasim while being members of M/s QICT. They said NAB has sought 8 years old record from Chairman PQA and Chief Collectors of Customs. NAB is likely to reach on a logical conclusion regarding above said matters, said sources.
According to sources, NAB Karachi, in a letter to Chairman PQA, has requested to direct the concerned officers/officials to appear before Case Officer and submit copy of contract agreements (original and revised) between the PQA and M/s QICT Pakistan, memorandum & article of association, moveable assets, shareholders register, annual returns of M/s QICT and its relation in all respects with M/s DP World, details of outward remittances abroad transacted by M/s QICT on account of premium/profits and any other heads, statement of royalty payments made by M/s QICT to PQA on monthly basis from 2013 to 2020, dates of inauguration and operation of terminals at Port Qasim, audit and inspection of M/s QICT carried out by PQA and such from 2013 to 2020, statement of sales tax on services paid to federal board of revenue (FBR) or Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) by M/s QICT from 2013 to 2020, statement of foreign direct investments (FDI) received by M/s QICT at Port Qasim from 2013 to 2020, details of any show cause notices or inquiries/complaints against M/s QICT or violation of contract agreement and action/outcome of those inquiries/complaints and details of any regional office of M/s QICT outside Pakistan to whom it reports, said the sources.
“The information has been asked under the provision of section 19 of National Accountability Ordinance, 1999,” said NAB letter.
Similarly, NAB, in another letter to Chief Collector of Custom, has asked to direct the concerned officer to appear before the Combined Investigation Team (CIT) headed by Case Officer and present concerned documents including dates of inauguration and operation of terminals at Port Qasim, details of scanned donated to Pakistan for scanning goods imported/exported from Pakistan and history of usage of those scanners at import/export stage at Port Qasim, copies of scanned images of the imported goods, details of local charges in Pakistan collected by M/s QICT at Port Qasim from 2013 to 2020 under various heads, foreign direct investment (FDI) received by M/s QICT from 2013 to 2020, details of any show cause notices or inquiries/complaints against M/s QICT or violation of Pakistan Customs Rules and action/outcome of those inquiries/complaints and details of houses provided by M/s QICT to Customs Department staff at both terminal 1 and terminal 2.
