KARACHI: A single-member bench of Customs Appellate Tribunal on Tuesday adjourned the hearing of a case against the confiscation of legally imported milk powder.
According to details, officials of the Directorate General Investigation and Intelligence raided the premises of appellant Muhammad Hanif on January 11 and confiscated 12,250 kg of milk powder packed in 490 bags.
The appellant said he had imported the milk powder from Iran legally and had gotten it released after paying the applicable customs duty and other taxes.
“We even provided the goods declaration (GD) to prove that the commodity was legally imported and was cleared after the payment of all the relevant duty and taxes but our plea was rejected. We were ordered to pay the customs duty and other taxes along with a 20 percent penalty.”
He said he had again paid duty and taxes along with 20 percent penalty to get the goods released despite paying duty and taxes at the time of import.
He argued about the legality of the raid and the subsequent confiscation of the legally imported milk powder.
According to law, the appellant should have given an opportunity of hearing before the confiscation. However, the law was not followed, Hanif said.
The appellant requested the tribunal to direct the respondent Directorate General I&I to refund the amount he was forced to pay under the heads of duties, taxes and penalty.
The bench adjourned the hearing of the case until the first week of November as no one appeared on behalf of the respondent.
