LAHORE: The Customs Appellate Tribunal has accepted the appeals filed by M/s Pak Electron Limited (PEL) against the Directorate of Customs (Appraisement) Lahore and Directorate of Post Clearance Audit (PCA) Lahore.
Omer Arshed Hakeem, Member Judicial Bench-II, declares in the Judgment that instant appeal has been accepted and set the whole of the impugned proceedings at naught and declares the recoveries effectuated there under as illegal/unenforceable being time barred.
According to the precise fact of the case, with the permission of the Director General (DG) Post Clearance Audit (PCA) Islamabad, the Deputy Director (PCA) Lahore asked the appellant to provide records for audit relating to the import clearance made during the Financial Year 2006-07 to 2010-11 which was provided by the appellant.
During the Audit, the PCA team observed that the appellant imported one consignment of 260 pieces of diesel generating sets from China. These were imported in Commercial quantities but used domestically instead of industrial consumption that was illegal because according to the relevant SRO 530 (1)2005 the importer is not admissible to import goods for home consumption.
After the complete audit of the case, authorities declared that the importer had underpaid an amount of Rs2.6million.
After the show case notice, adjudicating authority passed the order-in-original for the recovery of the underpaid taxes and duties from the M/s Pak Electron Limited (PEL).
Being aggrieved from the order, appellant challenged the order-in-original on the grounds that impugned order is bad in law and wrong in facts. The show case notice was barred by the time, section 32 (1) of Customs Act 1969 is not attracted on the allegation made in show case notice. The counsel for recipient denied all the allegations put by the appellant side.
After hearing the case, Customs Appellate Tribunal accepted the appeal. The tribunal maintained that the impugned show cause notice, being clearly hit by the bar of limitation, is unenforceable under the law.
