LAHORE: The Collectorate of Appeals is of prime importance in the entire apparatus of Customs due to its independent status and intermediate role. The parties including the customs department approach the collectorate whenever they are unhappy with judgments at lower level by Customs officials.
This was the crux of an exclusive talk of Customs Collector (Appeals) Asif Mahmood Jah with Customs Today at his office in Customs House, Lahore.
He informed that importers as well as Customs officials knock the door of the collectorate against the judgment declared by the Collectorate of Adjudication on cases instituted by the Deputy Collectors, Superintendents and Appraisers within 40 days.
“Normally cases are decided within one month but it also depends on when the (aggrieved) party files an appeal with the collectorate,” he pointed out, adding that every case is decided after a thorough hearing of the parties involved.
Jah said that the Collector (Appeals) had been functioning for many years and was taking up cases instituted by all collectorates including Preventive, Appraisement and Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation of Lahore and other cities including Multan, Faisalabad and Sialkot.
“Four to five cases are heard on a daily basis. The collectorate is an appellate forum which has quasi-judicial powers and can hear and decide cases involving up to Rs1 million, while cases decided by the Collector Adjudication and Additional Collector Adjudication can be challenged at Customs Appellate Tribunal,” the Collector Appeals explained.
According to the collectorate, 131 cases, involving millions of rupees revenues have been disposed of during the first three months of the current year. The collectorate decided 44 cases in favour of taxpayers while 87 cases were decided in favour of the department.
