ISLAMABAD, June 13: A foreign ship has dumped 22,000 tons of steel in Pakistan through under-invoicing, sources in the Central Board of Revenue (CBR) told Dawn on Thursday.

These sources said that a Ukrainian ship — M/S MV Selecta — dumped this huge quantity of steel in the country by resorting to under invoicing at $220 per ton price against an international price of $275 per ton.

China had originally ordered for the steel but due to outbreak of Sars that resulted in the slowing down of business activities, the ship was diverted to Pakistan.

Later, a group of steel importers got the shipment by conniving with some customs officials at Karachi sea port. One of the reasons to divert the shipment, sources said, was that the timing of LC had expired.

However, the matter was reported on Thursday to the chairman, National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Lt-Gen Munir Hafeez and later to the chairman, CBR, Riaz Malik.

“This is a very serious matter and I felt the necessity to bring it to the notice of the concerned people,” said the chairman Pakistan Steel, Col.(Retd) Muhammad Afzal.

He told Dawn that the chairman, CBR, has promised to conduct an inquiry into the matter and take action against the people involved. Minimum, he said, anti-dumping duty would be levied on the imported steel product. Basically, the product is hot rolled coils.

A Karachi based company, International Industries Limited (IIL), Col. Afzal said, had been importing the same product from Ukraine at $275 per ton.

“If the importers refuse to pay the difference of $55 per ton, Pakistan Steel Mills will lift the entire material,” the chairman, Steel Mills, said.

Responding to a question, he said that dealerships of 10 importers of Steel Mills who were involved in, what he termed, the menace of under invoicing would be cancelled.

He said China had been the largest importer and exporter of steel products but ever since the spread of Sars, most of the shipments were being transferred to other countries including Pakistan.

Another official source when contacted said that Customs Authority at Karachi on Thursday decided to clear the issue by charging customs duty at $260 per ton along with 15 per cent bank guarantee on account of sales tax and income tax.

“By the time the chairmen NAB and CBR intervene, the matter of under-invoicing would have been settled,” he said.