PESHAWAR: Deputy Superintendent Drugs Enforcement Cell of the Model Customs Collectorate Peshawar has taken into possession eight vehicles loaded with Non-Duty-Paid goods and their impounding were challenged by the owners in the Peshawar High Court.
The customs authorities informed Customs Today on Monday that, amongst these vehicles, few were intercepted twice for the same charge and handed over to the owners upon the payment of 20 percent redemption fine and no vehicle was impounded in the first attempt.
Deputy Superintendent Drugs Enforcement Cell Model Customs Collectorate Peshawar has took into possession eight ford wagons bearing registration Nos.C-9912, C-8382, RIP-2174, RIP-1114, AJK-C 6414, RIP-5409 and C-4641 loaded with foreign origin cloths and have been handed over to the customs staff for further legal action.
The customs staff examined the above said vehicles and prepared recovery memos of the recovered foreign origin cloths. On demand, the owners failed to provide any legal import documents or lawful justification for the possession of above said goods.
The customs authorities stated in the Peshawar High Court that the vehicle in question was twice intercepted by the customs authorities for carrying smuggling items/foreign cloths for which the petitioner failed to furnish any plausible explanation that the goods recovered from the vehicle was not prohibited under Section 181 of the Customs Act-1969. Despite the issuance of warning by the adjudicating collector in previous cases for not using the vehicle in such activities, they were again found carrying smuggling goods in the vehicle.
The PHC passed a judgment that the Adjudication Officer has rightly ordered the confiscation of vehicle by following the SRO No: 499 (1)/2009 duly maintained by the learned Customs Appellate Tribunal to the extent of confiscation of vehicle which needs no intervention by this court.
Upon this, the customs staff seized the foreign origin cloths and other smuggling items under the provision of Section 168 of the Customs Act for violation of Section 2(S) III and Section 16 of IBID Act read with Section 3 (1) of Import and Export (Control) Act-1950. The vehicles bearing registration numbers referred above were also impounded under Section 168 of the Customs Act-1969 so the order of the Adjudication Officer was termed valid.
