FTO Grills FBR for Failing to Facilitate Import of Luxury Car

Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) has unearthed a unique case of maladministration of the customs department where the department refused to accept the manufacturing date of the imported Mercedes Benz. According to an order issued by the FTO here on Wednesday, the complaint was filed in terms of Section 10(1) of the Federal Tax Ombudsman Ordinance, 2000 (FTO Ordinance), against the Collectorate of Customs Appraisement (East), Karachi, for consideration of manufacturing date of vehicle as per manufacturing company for assessment of duty/taxes. The department should have kept all the above-narrated facts and legal provisions in view and should have contacted the Actual Manufacturers of the impugned vehicle i.e. M/s Mercedes Benz, Germany, instead of simply relying upon the info provided by their local agent viz M/s Shahnawaz (Pvt) Ltd and on vin-info.com an independent website while “Oasis” is reportedly the official website). Briefly, a used vehicle, Mercedes Benz, was shipped from the UK on July 17, 2023, consigned to Mrs. Khatoon, and arrived at Karachi Port on August 13, 2023. On 7 July 2023, a letter was already been issued to M/s Shahnawaz (Pvt) Ltd., Karachi, by the Collectorate of Customs Appraisement (East), Karachi, for supply of Import Trade price (ITP) for the said vehicle. It replied, mentioning the total value as $99,447/- and the date of production as March 2022. The clearing agent approached the office of M/s Shahnawaz Ltd with the plea that the said vehicle is 2021 manufactured as well a few extra options are mentioned which are not fitted in the vehicle but they refused to make any changes. So, the Complainant emailed a complaint to their principal Mercedes Benz Daimler along with proof of their claim, who forwarded the complaint to their Middle East regional office. M/s Shahnawaz responded through an email mentioning that they oversaw a few options which brought the total Import Trade Price (ITP) value down to $96,833/- but still mentioned the date of production as March 2022. Ms Shahnawaz Ltd is taking the date of shipment/delivery to the Mercedes Benz UK dealer as the date of production. According to the CGO14/2005 dated 6 June 2005, the assessment can only be made from the date of production and not from the date of shipment/delivery to the Mercedes Benz dealer. Hence, M/s Shahnawaz is deliberately not mentioning the actual date of production just to discourage the import of used Mercedes Benz vehicles. Another factory document known as the Certificate of Conformity (CCC) was issued and placed in the vehicle right after the vehicle left the factory. The year of manufacture on this CCC document was mentioned as 2021. In view of supra, it is evident that the issue of the manufacturing date of the subject vehicle is a unique case given the temporary closure of the manufacturing process due to the COVID lockdown and remains the core issue of the subject complaint. Therefore, the Dept should either have accepted the Certificate of Conformity (CCC) as sufficient evidence provided by the Complainant or should have approached the concerned manufacturing unit of the company i.e. Mercedes Benz, Germany, for verification and confirmation of the manufacturing date of the said vehicle instead of simply relying upon the challenged information provided by the local agent. This confirms unjust and discriminatory decision-making by the department due to its neglect, inattention, delay, incompetence, and inefficiency and is tantamount to maladministration, the FTO order stated. FTO has recommended the FBR to direct the Collector of Customs Appraisement (East) to verify the certificate of conformity issued by the manufacturer i.e. Mercedes Benz under Article 6 of EU Council Directive No.92/53 which clearly states the date of manufacturing as March 25, 2021, directly from the manufacturing company i.e. Mercedes Benz, Germany, as soon as possible but not later than 30 days, in case the verification is not made within the given timeline by the Deptt, the documentary evidence of Certificate of Conformity (CCC) issued by the manufacturer, be used for determination of the year of manufacturing and the assessment be made accordingly, as per law, FTO order added.