KARACHI: The Collector of Collectorate of Customs Adjudication-I Abdul Basit Chaudhry has issued an Order-In-Original (OnO) against a clearing agent, M/s General Freight Corporation (Private) Limited in mis-declaration and pilferage of transit goods en-route by the clearing agent.
The Collector of Customs Adjudication-I has also imposed a penalty of Rs 1 million on the agent for violation of Sections 2(s), 16, 26, 32(1), 32(2), 32A and 209 of the Customs Act, 1969; Section 3(1) of the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1969 and Import Policy Order 2012-13.
In the Order, the Collector of Customs Adjudication-I stated that “I ordered outright confiscation of the seized liquor, being notified at Serial No.3 of SRO566(I)/2005 and all other items found in three seized containers along with the three containers under clause (8) and (89) of Section 156(1) of the Customs Act, 1969”.
The OnO further stated that on scrutiny of the relevant record it has also been found that bills of lading Nos: MAEU-862235963, MAEU-862922131 and MAEU-862455010 for these three containers mention M/s General Freight Corporation as “Notify Party”, this leads to the conclusion that it was pre-decided by the consignee that the goods will be handled by M/s General Freight Corporation. Therefore, the clearing agent cannot be absolved of his legal responsibilities under Section-209 of the Customs Act, 1969.
