Billions Lost As Banned Goods Cleared Via Customs Without Oversight

The Faceless Customs Assessment (FCA) system cleared restricted and banned goods worth Rs. 10.538 billion in violation of the Import Policy Order, according to an audit by the Directorate General of Post Clearance Audit (PCA). The audit, covering December 16, 2024, to March 15, 2025, found that over 1,006 Goods Declarations (GDs) involving restricted items were wrongly cleared, exposing major flaws in the automated customs system launched to curb corruption. The audit also identified Rs. 5.007 billion in duty and tax evasion across 1,524 GDs, and an additional Rs. 2.433 billion in lost fines due to failure to frame contravention cases. Total losses from these cases stood at Rs. 7.44 billion. Overall, the report estimated revenue losses of Rs. 38 billion in just three months. Only 8.8 percent of clearances were audited, suggesting far higher losses system-wide. The report further noted Rs. 30.364 billion in lost fines due to non-enforcement under SRO 499(I)/2009, and highlighted Rs. 643 million in suspicious solar panel imports involving unauthorized NTNs and user IDs. Launched in December 2024, the FCA system was intended to automate and streamline customs processes. The audit suggests it instead enabled large-scale evasion and policy violations.