ISLAMABAD: Deputy Director Customs Adjudication Islamabad Dr. Wajid Ali has ordered the release of non-duty-paid smuggled Foreign Origin cloths worth Rs0.5million on the payment of duty and taxes leviable thereon and a 30 percent fine equivalent to the appraised value of the seized cloths.
The cloths were caught on a tip-off received by Model Customs Collectorate Preventive Islamabad staff during a setup of a picket on G.T. Road Rawalpindi on 29th of April 2017 loaded on a bus coming from Peshawar to Rawalpindi.
Dr. Wajid has passed an Order-In-Original in the seizure case 338/2017 and held that respondents Sardar Khan, Ghulam Mir Rehman, Amir Nawaz and Habib Ullah have failed to provide valid and legal documents regarding the lawful import of the seized foreign cloths. It means that the seized cloths were non-duty and taxes paid.
The seized cloths fall in the category of notified items in terms of section 2(s) (ii) of the Customs Act-1969. The total appraised value of the seized cloths is Rs0.5million, which is less than the lawful limit of Rs150000 each owner. Therefore keeping the facts in view, a lenient view of the case is taken and option is granted to the rightful owner in terms of section 181 of the Customs Act-1969 to redeem the same on the payment of duty and taxes leviable plus a redemption fine equivalent to 30 percent of the appraised value of seized cloths in lieu of confiscation.
