LAHORE: The Customs Appellate Tribunal has upheld an order passed by the adjudication authority in case of Kashif Mailk against collector of customs (Adjudication) Faisalabad, collector of Customs Multan and superintendent of customs on June 23, 2017.
Omer Arshad Hakeem, Member Judicial Bench-I, heard the case in details and passed the judgement with the remarks that the instant customs appeal is devoid of merit and is dismissed with no order.
According to the details, the staff of Customs ASO intercepted a Toyota Land Cruiser 5 door jeep and asked the driver about documents. However, the driver failed to produce documents showing lawful import of the vehicle and the same was detained under section 171 of Customs Act 1969.
After the chemical examination by the forensic science laboratory some discrepancies were found and a show cause notice was issued to the owner of the vehicle under the law for explanation. The adjudicating officer heard the case in details and passed the Order-in-Original (ONO), indicating that the vehicle is smuggled and charges leveled against the driver were correct.
Being aggrieved from the order, the appellant filed the case before the Customs Appellate Tribunal on the grounds that forensic laboratory report was prepared by the ASO staff themselves and not by the laboratory. He alleged that the report by the ASO is baseless and incomplete, the impugned order is passed in a mechanical fashion and without considering the fact of the case. He also appealed for the dismissal of the ONO. On the other hand, the counsel of the respondent denied all allegations and prayed for the rejection of the appeal.
After hearing the arguments from both sides, Customs Appellate Tribunal dismissed the appeal and upheld the Order-In-Original by the adjudication authority.
