Senators Demands FIR Against Senior FBR Officers in Missing Cigarettes Case

The Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control expressed dissatisfaction with the nomination of lower-rank officials in the FIR registered over the cigarette theft and said officers responsible for the matter should be held accountable.

The committee directed the Federal Board of Revenue and Federal Investigation Agency to submit comprehensive inquiry reports within one month. It also ordered the presentation of verified physical stock registers for seized warehouse goods and called for future enforcement actions to focus on the main beneficiaries and factory owners rather than field personnel.

Senate committee has ordered further investigation into an estimated $1 billion annual revenue loss from Pakistan’s tobacco sector while questioning the handling of a case involving the theft of 2,828 cartons of cigarettes.

The committee reviewed a subcommittee report submitted by Convener Senator Saifullah Abro, which estimated annual revenue losses of around $1 billion from tax evasion, illicit manufacturing and trade malpractices in the tobacco sector. The report also covered factories operating in tax-exempt areas, including FATA, PATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as the theft of the seized cigarette cartons.

Members questioned why administrative notices had been issued across a Rs. 1,120 billion tax-exempt area while primary factory owners allegedly avoided accountability and low level transport drivers faced arrests and legal proceedings.

Senator Talha Mahmood pointed to procedural issues in the initial registration of cases, saying key individuals identified during preliminary inquiries were left out of the final charges. The committee also found gaps in FBR warehouse procedures, including unavailable or missing CCTV footage, absent inventory ledgers and unverified handovers of confiscated contraband.

The committee also examined the legal basis for the FIA conducting independent tax inquiries involving FBR matters and directed the two institutions to establish a coordinated operational mechanism.

Members reviewed notifications granting the Frontier Corps and Pakistan Rangers anti smuggling powers in border areas of FATA and PATA. Officials said the powers had been delegated because of complex local law and order conditions.

The committee decided to continue examining tax evasion and related revenue losses and agreed to form a subcommittee for a further investigation. It also directed the FIA to provide an update on the progress of the cigarette theft investigation.