KARACHI: The Sindh High Court directed customs officials to release the consignment of petitioner subject to securing the disputed amount of duty and taxes in the shape of pay order/bank guarantee on a constitutional petition filed by M/s Noor Traders seeking release order of consignment of shoe polish imported from China.
On July 3, 2019, a two-member bench, issued notices to customs officials and directed them to file tier comments on next date of hearing. The court also directed office of SHC to connect all other constitutional petitions related with this matter.
During the hearing, counsel for the petitioner argued that the petitioner is also aggrieved, seriously prejudiced by the illegal, arbitrary customs value of shoe polish, fixed vide Valuation Ruling No 1122/2017 dated 08/06/2017, which is already under revision process after untiring efforts of the petitioner along with other petitioners through various letters/reminders for revision of the values of the above-mentioned valuation ruling.
He further argued that staff of the respondents issued the notices of meeting dated 19/10/2018, but still not issued the revised valuation ruling, neither considered the petitioner along with other importers above contentions, nor complied the order of SHC dated 14/03/2019. “It is expected that such exercise may be completed within a period of six weeks from the date of this order”. It is illegal and against the law as well as contempt of this court.
Citing chairman Federal Board of Revenue, the collector of Customs Appraisement West, East, Port Muhammad Bin Qasim and Director General Valuation as respondents, petitioner pleaded the court to declare that act of the respondents as illegal, malafide and arbitrary and court may direct customs officials to release his consignment immediately and restrain them from taking any coercive action till final order in this matter.
