LAHORE: The Customs Appellate Tribunal has remanded back an appeal with regard to a seized Toyota Land Cruiser. The appeal was filed by Amina Khan and Muhammad Sarwar against Collector of Customs Adjudication, Customs House Nabha Road Lahore and other customs officials.
Member Technical Bench-II Imran Tariq heard the arguments from both sides and decided the case with remarks that the forensic report is ambiguous and did not turn up to clearly, so the impugned order is set aside with orders to the Collector Customs Adjudication Lahore to hear the stance of the appellant and decide the case within 45 days.
According to reports, the assistant collector of Customs ASO received information that a Toyota Land Cruiser jeep was plying on the roads and had fake documents. Following the information, the customs anti-smuggling staff intercepted the vehicle near district Kasur.
On demand, the owners of the vehicle failed to produce documents regarding the lawful import of the vehicle. Consequently, the vehicle was taken into possession under Section 2kk read with Section 17 of the Customs Act-1969 for further verification.
During the course of audit, the appellant produced some documents which were not enough for legal possession of the vehicle. After the complete examination of the vehicle from the Forensic Science Laboratory and all other departments, the same was impounded under Section 156 of the Customs Act 1969.
After that, the adjudication authority heard the case and passed the order that the owner of the vehicle is liable to pay the duties and taxes as per show cause notice.
Being aggrieved from the order, an appeal was filed in the Customs Appellate Tribunal on the grounds that earlier order passed by the adjudication authority is not according to the law and passed without hearing arguments from appellant and liable to be set aside. After hearing the arguments, Customs Appellate Tribunal has remanded back the case to then appellant.
