Senate Committee Seeks Accountability in Missing Cigarettes Case

Pakistan’s Senate Standing Committee on Interior and Narcotics Control has called for further investigation into the reported theft of 2,828 cartons of cigarettes and wider revenue losses in the tobacco sector. The committee questioned why lower-ranking officials were named in the FIR while senior officers and factory owners were not fully held accountable.

The committee expressed dissatisfaction with the nomination of lower-rank officials in the case and said those responsible should be held accountable. It directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to submit comprehensive inquiry reports within one month.

Committee questions handling of seized cigarettes

Members ordered the presentation of verified physical stock registers for goods seized and stored in warehouses. They also directed that future enforcement actions should focus on the main beneficiaries and factory owners rather than field personnel.

The committee reviewed a subcommittee report submitted by Convener Senator Saifullah Abro. The report estimated annual revenue losses of around $1 billion from tax evasion, illicit manufacturing and trade malpractices in the tobacco sector.

It also examined factories operating in tax-exempt areas, including FATA, PATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, alongside the theft of the seized cigarette cartons.

Questions over officials and factory owners

Members questioned the handling of tax-exempt raw materials imported into the former FATA and PATA areas. According to the Senate, the value of these imports reached Rs 1,120 billion between 2018 and 2026; the committee raised concerns about consumption certificates and whether factory owners and senior officials were being held accountable.

Senator Talha Mahmood raised procedural concerns about the initial registration of cases. He said key individuals identified during preliminary inquiries were left out of the final charges.

The committee also identified gaps in FBR warehouse procedures, including unavailable or missing CCTV footage, absent inventory ledgers and unverified handovers of confiscated contraband.

FBR and FIA coordination examined

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

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