LAHORE: The Customs Appellate Tribunal has accepted an appeal of Muhammad Aamir, a resident of Multan, against the Collector Customs (Adjudication), Customs House, Nabha Road, Lahore.
Imran Tariq, Member Technical Bench-II, declared in the judgment that on the grounds of confiscation given by the customs department that the truck was wholly and exclusively used is not supported by any evidence by the respondent. Tribunal Member also ordered the handover of the truck to its lawful owner unconditionally.
As per facts, on the information, the superintendent of customs (I &P), model customs collectorate (Preventive) intercepted a Mazda container truck near Hall Road on the persuasions that said truck is being used for transportation of smuggled goods. The truck was brought to the customs house and, on demand, the driver of truck failed to produce any legal document, so the truck was seized by the customs authorities.
After the show cause notice, adjudication authority passed the order-in-original that the truck was used wholly for the transportation of smuggled goods which were confiscated under the Section 157 of the Customs Act-1969.
The appellant, aggrieved from the order in original, challenged the seizure on the grounds that order-in-original is against the facts and circumstances of the case therefore liable to be set aside. On the other side, the counsel for recipient put the arguments and denied all allegations by the appellant.
After hearing the arguments from both sides, Customs Appellate Tribunal accepted the customs appeals and ordered the release of Mazda Truck to the lawful owner unconditionally.
