ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari has remanded back a unique case of serious maladministration committed by the customs officials at the Islamabad Airport, allegedly involved in not returning a huge quantity of expensive Iphones to the importer on payment of duties/ taxes and claimed destruction of imported phones. The case has been referred back to the Federal Tax Ombudsman. The case is a classic example of alleged fraudulent activities at the Islamabad Airport, which appeared to be committed by officials at the said Airport. The whole case revolves around the question whether these mobile devices were still active despite customs officials of the Islamabad Airport reported that the phones have been destroyed. READ ALSO: 51 iPhones worth Rs10.6m confiscated from group of Umrah pilgrims FBR Member Customs (Operations) need to take immediate notice of the case and prevent any kind of such similar fraudulent activities of the customs officials at the Islamabad Airport, if any. According to the order of the President Zardari, the representation has been filed by the Federal Board of Revenue assailing the order of the Federal Tax Ombudsman, whereby it was held that the responding Department has got conducted inquiry into the matter in compliance of this office recommendations dated 08.05.2024 passed in complaint. The relevant part thereof also has been reproduced at pars 4 supra. No further action is warranted; therefore, the complaint is closed and file consigned to record. The said complaint has been filed in terms of the Federal Tax Ombudsman Ordinance, 2000 (FTO Ordinance) against Collectorate of Customs (Airports) Islamabad for not returning iPhones recovered from the Complainant. Briefly, as per the Complainant: “The importer is writing to formally lodge a complaint against the customs authorities in Islamabad regarding fraudulent activity involving the alleged destruction of 42 iPhone 14 Pro Max devices. The official claim by the customs authorities is that these phones were destroyed; however, evidence shows otherwise. Upon investigation, it has been found that these devices are still active, with their 1Cloud statuses showing as operational. In fact, some of the devices have recently been restored, indicating clear misuse and fraudulent mishandling of the seized property. This not only constitutes gross misconduct but also reflects serious flaws in the accountability mechanisms of the customs department. As the rightful owner, the importer has suffered a substantial financial loss due to the mismanagement and potential corruption surrounding this case. The value of the 42 iPhone 14 Pro Max devices, coupled with the reputational and operational damage caused by this mishandling, has placed a significant burden on the importer. In light of this situation, the importer has requested the President to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the customs authorities’ claim of destruction of the devices, verify the actual status of the devices and identify the individuals or groups ed in this misconduct and hold the responsible parties accountable for actions, recommend compensation for the huge financial loss, the importer has incurred due to propose systemic reforms to ensure such incidents do not recur in the future. The complaint was referred to Secretary, Revenue Division, Islamabad for comments. In response thereto, Collector, Collectorate of Customs (Airports) Islamabad has submitted following comments/reply:- The complainant had earlier filed a complaint in this case with the FTO in March 2024. After conducting hearings, the FTO issued the findings and ordered a Fact-Finding Inquiry in the case. Compliance in this regard was made by the Collectorate and the Inquiry report was forwarded to the FTO vide letter dated 20 September 2024. In view of the above, entertaining a second complaint in the same case by the Complainant to the FTO is not warranted, as the recourse available under the FTO ordinance includes filing a Review, or a Representation to the President of Pakistan. In view of the above it is requested that the complaint may be disposed of accordingly. The Collector of Customs (Airports) Islamabad has also forwarded a copy of Inquiry Report dated 20.09.2024. The complainant in his letter to the FTO stated that the iCloud logins for a certain number of IMEIs were active therefore he claimed that the mobile phones were not destroyed rather were in use. It has been verified through various credible resources that iCloud logins are not bound to devices. The purpose of an iCloud account is to synchronize data across multiple devices. The said icloud logins could be active on other IMEI devices which are beyond the scope of this fact finding. During official correspondence with the PTA, the IMEI numbers for all 42 mobile phones that belonged to the complainant were blacklisted. The complainant’s plea that the active status for iCloud login of the mobile phones in DA 961/ 2023 means that the phones have not been destroyed is inadmissible because iCloud login does not relate to the hardware or device. It is like an email ID that can be opened on any other compatible device. For the destruction of the said mobile phones, all processes were followed and there was no material lapse found. Goods were properly detained, recorded and transported to the destruction site, Islamabad Airport added. Considering the respective stances, the learned Federal Tax Ombudsman proceeded to pass the impugned order. Hence, the representation filed by the Complainant. President order added that the counsel for the petitioner stated that 42-iPhones belonging to importer were confiscated at Islamabad Airport at a time when the petitioner/ complainant was ready and willing to pay all the taxes and duties due thereon. Faced with this situation, the complainant was left with no option but to file a complaint before the learned Federal Tax Ombudsman, who ordered that an enquiry should be conducted in this matter. For compliance of recommendations of the learned Federal Tax Ombudsman dated 08.05.2024, in the inquiry report, the responding department mentioned that all these Phones were destroyed as they were not imported into Pakistan in accordance with law. The learned counsel stated that a favourable order was passed by the Assistant Collector of Customs, Islamabad Airport that these phones should be returned to the complainant subject to the payment of duty and taxes. In this background, according to the learned counsel, the learned Federal Tax Ombudsman should have decided the matter on merits; i.e., as to whether these items could have been cleared at the Airport subject to the payment of duties or taxes or not. The contention of the learned counsel appears to be correct. This matter is remanded to the learned Federal Tax Ombudsman to decide that in the given circumstances, whether these items could be cleared as per law, subject to the payment of duties and taxes or not. The counsel further stated that the department has misstated that these 42 mobile phones have been destroyed. This aspect will also be determined by the learned FTO. The FTO shall decide all the above issues within a period of one month from the receipt of the order of the President, the order of the President added. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026