KARACHI: Singh High Court, Customs Appellate bench has rejected a petition filed by Ahmad Noor Steel Furnace for release of goods comprising iron and steel re-rolling scrap.
During hearing of the case Advocate Khalid Mehmood Rajper who represented Directorate of Intelligence & Investigations and Appraisement West placed copies of two show cause notices dated 18.01.2024 and 19.01.2024 on record according to which petitioner company was not authorized to import the goods in question in violation of Import and Export Act 1950 and section 16 of the Customs Act 1969.
The petitioner company is accused of by-passing standard procedure for filing of Goods Declaration (GD) by circumventing the inbuilt validation checks in WeBOC system.
The court held that as section 16 has been invoked interim relief of release of goods upon deposition of disputed amount of duties and taxes cannot be granted. The bench disposing of the petition directed the petitioner to respond to the Show Cause Notices while Authority concerned was directed to decide the case expeditiously.
A F.I.R No 10/2023 has also been registered at R&D, West against the importer involving 102 Goods Declarations. As per allegations, importer misused the “Open Account Facility” and managed to file GDs without the mandatory EIF/FI or proper Bank/Authorized Dealer authorization for open account mode of transaction in system at the time of filing of GDs.
