KARACHI, July 30, 2025 – In a dramatic enforcement blitz, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has unleashed a sweeping investigation into Benami transactions linked to the import of old and used cars, signaling a no-holds-barred approach to dismantling one of Pakistan’s most entrenched tax-evasion rackets. The probe, spearheaded by FBR’s anti-Benami zone, targets the rampant abuse of the Vehicle Baggage and Gift Schemes—programs originally intended to benefit overseas Pakistanis. Instead, these schemes have allegedly been hijacked by commercial importers using clearing agents and complicit customs officials to flood the market with untaxed cars. The FBR has zeroed in on vehicle clearances from February 2018 to May 2025, issuing notices to clearing agents with a tight seven-day deadline to submit detailed documentation. These include import records, customs declarations, data on true beneficiaries, CNICs, bank statements, contracts, and explanations justifying how commercial cars were cleared under personal import schemes. FBR officials accuse the agents of deliberately concealing the identities of actual car owners in a vast network of Benami operations that cost the…