KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the customs authorities to provisionally release a consignment of styrene-butadiene rubber within three days.
A division bench of the SHC gave this direction while hearing a petition filed by Muhammad Shahid and Muhammad Shakir who challenged the valuation rates of the rubber.
The court observed that it had already issued a verdict directing Pakistan Customs to provisionally release consignments under Section 81 of the Customs Act, 1969 in all such cases where valuation ruling is impugned.
The court; therefore, directed the petitioners to approach the customs authorities for provisional release of the consignments. The court further directed the authorities to release the consignment within three days after the petitioners make payment of duty and taxes assessed at admitted value and deposit differential amount.
The petitioners’ counsel submitted that his clients imported consignment of SBR, declaring it as per its transaction value in terms of Section 25(1) of the Customs Act 1969. However, he complained that the customs authorities are assessing the value of their consignment on the basis of a valuation ruling which is much higher given the price of the rubber in the international market.
