A shocking customs scandal has surfaced involving the under-invoicing of luxury vehicles in Pakistan. One case in particular has caught national attention. A 2023 Toyota Land Cruiser was declared at just Rs. 17,635, while its actual market value was over Rs. 10 million.
The Toyota Land Cruiser customs scandal is just one example among over 1,300 vehicle imports flagged by the Directorate General of Post Clearance Audit (PCA). The total declared value of these vehicles stood at Rs. 670 million, but audits revealed the real worth was closer to Rs. 7.25 billion.
Systemic Tax Evasion and Import Fraud Uncovered
The under-invoicing resulted in a massive Rs. 17.5 billion tax shortfall between December 2024 and March 2025. According to the PCA report, many importers also failed to show proof of foreign remittance, indicating they likely used informal channels to pay for these vehicles.
Auditors also warned that customs officials did not enforce proper document checks. This lack of oversight enabled traders to exploit the Faceless Customs Assessment (FCA) system. The FCA was designed to speed up import processing but now appears vulnerable to manipulation.
Officials say this pattern of behavior isn’t just simple tax evasion; it points to Trade-Based Money Laundering (TBML). This carries serious implications, especially with Pakistan under close observation from global bodies like the IMF and FATF.
Also read Pakistan to Send Its First Astronaut Into Space in 2026
The PCA has categorized this scandal as high-risk, warning that it poses a threat to Pakistan’s financial transparency and national credibility.
As investigations continue, the Toyota Land Cruiser case has become the symbol of a larger issue — how weak enforcement and system loopholes are enabling large-scale financial crimes right under the government’s nose.
