MUHAMMAD ALI

KARACHI: Indian fabric, which is a non-importable item as per import policy order, is being brought into the country in bulk under the very nose of preventive and customs intelligence officers; it is learnt Monday.

According to sources, textile sector, considered as the country’s major revenue generation sector, is badly being affected by the imports of Indian fabric, forcing power and silk looms operators to shut their businesses.

They further said that around 400 containers, carrying 20 tons of Indian fabric approximately in each container, were imported per month, of which, around 300 containers were directly brought to Karachi market while 100 containers were en-routed to the city as transshipment consignments to Quetta.

Sources said that the consignments of Indian fabric, which had no stamp of country of origin, were firstly shipped to Dubai and then Karachi ports under fake Chinese certificate of origin. Later, these consignments were cleared under fake certificate, providing Rs2.8 billion financial hit to the national kitty.

Although the Indian fabric is non-importable item as per import policy order, the customs department clears the same under fake certificates that leads to a revenue loss of Rs240 million per month to the exchequer, sources maintained.

Moreover, sources said the embossment of the country of origin on imported fabric was a mandatory requirement for the clearance of consignments, however the Indian fabric, which had no stamp of country of origin, was being released hassle-free under the very nose of preventive and customs intelligence officers.

Sources said that contraband Indian fabric of assorted varieties had huge demand in Pakistan, especially Karachi as the same, which was being sold in UAE at Rs12 per kilogram, was being traded at the rate of Rs24 per kilogram to the different attires’ brands. Therefore, the importers are involved in using all illegal means including heavy bribe to the preventive and customs intelligence officers for the clearance of these consignments.

When contacted, Muhammad Javed Bilwani, chairman Pakistan Apparel Forum (PAF) confirmed that huge quantity of Indian fabric was being imported, saying that they kept requesting the government to provide level playing field to the local industry and chart strict policies to avoid imports of Indian fabric as the influx of the said commodity has caused suspension of operations of 90 percent power-looms across the country.