KARACHI: Naeem Ali Muhammad Munshi, sole proprietor of M/s Shalimar Food Products has approached the Sindh High Court (SHC) and filed a constitutional petition against conducting raids, search, confiscation and sealing of petitioner’s factory without lawful authority.
On 4 February 2021, counsel for the petitioner stated that petitioner is engaged inter alia in the processing, sale, marketing and distribution of mouth fresheners, supari under the brand names of Tulsi and Rasily Supari respectively, and renowned and reputable Hilal Groups of Companies.
He submits that through this petition, the petitioner impugned the legality and validity of the raid, seizure and sealing of the factory premises of the petitioner from during the night of 9th and 10th Dec in the morning and without formally identifying themselves, customs officials barged into the premises and tortured the staff for about 5 hours and finally picked up about 6 MTs of betel nuts half of which was still to be offloaded from the truck and approx.
Counsel further submitted that 6 MTs of waste/ sawdust of betel nuts from inside the factory on the pretext of non-duty paid/ smuggled items from the petitioner’s factory located at Korangi Industrial Area, Karachi and beside the illegal raid/ seizure, the purported officials of customs department have also illegally and without any jurisdiction sealed the factory premises of the petitioner.
Citing cchairman FBR, Chief Collector of Customs South, Collector of Customs Anti-Smuggling Organization Headquarters and the Collector of Customs Preventive as respondents, petitioner pleaded the court tp declare that the action of the respondents of raid, search, confiscation and sealing of the factory is in total contravention of customs act, 1969, rendering the entire exercise to be malafide, without jurisdiction and tainted with ulterior motives.
