What happens to a non-custom-paid car, or a vehicle used to carry smuggled goods, when customs seizes it?

The Customs Act, 1969 treats a vehicle in two ways when customs seizes it. It can be the smuggled item itself, or it can be the means of carrying goods that are liable to confiscation. In both cases the vehicle can end up confiscated, and the owner’s route back to it is narrow.

What does the law say?

Section 2(g) defines a “conveyance” as any means of transport used for carrying goods or passengers, and names a vehicle expressly. That definition matters because section 157(2) then says every conveyance of whatever kind used in the removal of any goods liable to confiscation is also liable to confiscation. A car, pickup or truck carrying smuggled cloth, cigarettes or diesel is therefore exposed along with the load.

The term “non-custom-paid” does not appear in the Act. The Act works instead through the definition of “smuggle” in section 2(s), which covers bringing goods into or out of Pakistan in breach of a prohibition or restriction, or by any route other than a declared route, and being concerned in carrying, transporting, keeping or concealing such goods, or evading customs duties or taxes on them. A vehicle that entered Pakistan without duty being paid falls to be tested against that definition.

Section 187A adds a presumption aimed at vehicles specifically. If a detained or seized vehicle, on forensic examination, has a tampered chassis number, a cut and weld chassis, a chassis number filled with welding material, or a re-stamped number, it is presumed to be smuggled even if registered with the Motor Registration Authority, and it shall be confiscated. The same section lets the Board authorise use of such vehicles for operational purposes within ninety days of confiscation.

How does it work in practice?

The sequence the Act sets out is seizure, notice, adjudication and then, where ordered, confiscation.

• Seizure and return deadline. Section 168(2) says that if no show cause notice is given within two months of seizure, the goods must be returned to the person from whose possession they were seized. The Collector may extend this by up to two months for reasons recorded in writing. The limit does not apply to goods covered by the first proviso to section 181, which are goods the Board has excluded from the fine option.
• Proof of lawful possession. Section 187 puts the burden on the person accused to prove they had lawful authority, permit, licence, goods declaration or other required document. For an imported vehicle, that means the paperwork showing it was cleared through customs.
• Fine in lieu of confiscation. Section 181 lets the officer who passes the confiscation order give the owner an option to pay a fine instead. The officer decides the amount, the Board may fix fines for some goods, and the Board may bar the option for specified goods. The fine is in addition to duty, charges and any penalty.

Worked example (illustrative figures)

Imran runs a pickup service between Quetta and Karachi. Customs stops his pickup on the highway and finds boxes of foreign cigarettes with no import documents. Separately, officers examine the pickup’s chassis.

1. The cigarettes are alleged to be smuggled goods under section 2(s). If they are liable to confiscation, section 157(2) makes the pickup liable to confiscation too, because it was the conveyance used to remove them.
2. The forensic examination finds the chassis number re-stamped. Section 187A now presumes the pickup itself is smuggled, even though Imran holds a registration book, and says it shall be confiscated.
3. Under section 187, Imran carries the burden of showing a goods declaration or other lawful document for the cigarettes, and for the pickup.
4. Customs must issue a show cause notice within two months of seizure (extendable by two months) or return what was seized, under section 168(2).
5. If a confiscation order is passed, the officer may, but need not, offer a section 181 fine. For a vehicle caught by the section 187A presumption, the section’s own words are that it “shall be confiscated”.

No amounts are used here because the Act does not set a fixed fine for vehicles. The fine under section 181 is what the officer thinks fit, unless a Board order fixes it.

What if …?

What if I did not know the goods were in my vehicle? Section 157(2) attaches liability to the conveyance by its use, not by the owner’s knowledge. The section itself does not say whether an owner’s lack of knowledge changes the outcome, so that question is argued in the adjudication and any appeal.

What if the vehicle has been seized before? The current text of section 157(2) has no proviso about repeat seizures. Footnote 91 to the source text records that a proviso denying the fine option for a conveyance seized for the third time was omitted by the Finance Act, 2022.

What if customs misses the two-month deadline? Section 168(2) says the goods “shall be returned”, subject to the Collector’s recorded extension and the carve-out for goods under the first proviso to section 181.

Common mistakes

• “Registration makes my car legal.” Section 187A expressly overrides registration where the chassis has been tampered with.
• “A fine is always available.” Section 181 uses “may”. It is an option the officer can give, and the Board can exclude some goods from it.
• “The vehicle is safe if the goods were not mine.” Section 157(2) makes the conveyance liable because it was used to remove goods liable to confiscation.

What to check in the official text

Read section 157, section 187A and section 181 in the Customs Act as amended to 30 June 2025, together with the definitions of “conveyance” and “smuggle” in section 2. Check whether any Board order under the first proviso to section 181 covers the type of vehicle involved, and whether a Board order fixes the fine for it. Those orders are not part of this corpus. Appeal routes after a confiscation order are covered on the related page on appealing a customs order.