MULTAN: Collectorate of Customs Adjudication is more important for effective and fair administration of the Customs law. Collectorate of Customs Adjudication is organized department to administer and enforce a variety of statutes regulating national imports and exports. Customs Adjudication tasks includes that prohibited merchandise has not brought into the country; preventing tax frauds; investigating alleged unfair import competition; and promoting legal trade and collecting import duties and taxes. Covid-19 has disturbed routine proceedings of seizure cases due to panic situation and affected performance of Customs Adjudication.
It was stated by Additional Collector Customs Adjudication Talib Hussain in his exclusive interview to Customs Today. In all these tasks, Customs Adjudication makes decisions and exercises discretionary powers affecting many persons under circumstances in which disputed issues of fact, law, and policy are likely to arise. He said that Customs Adjudication shares responsibility for reviewing Customs action and administrative actions of Customs. But Customs Adjudication deals only with disputes arising under trade laws and enforcement.
Customs Adjudication is one major department for judicial review in any seizure case and it requires an understanding of the administrative process subject to review which begins with an overview of Customs Service operations. Recommendations concerning changes in the administrative procedures of the Customs law are beyond the scope of Customs Adjudication.
He said that accurate assessment in Customs seizure cases was very important and as flaws could be found in the seizing cases at the time of adjudication. The assessment of seizure cases is made under section 25 of the Customs Act 1969 of appraising staff.
The adjudicating authority is exercising the power of adjudication any seizure within pecuniary limit. Customs Adjudication send any seizure case which involves duty taxes up to Rs1 million to deputy collector, seizure cases which involves more than Rs1 million and less than Rs3 million duty taxes forwarded to Additional Collector and more than Rs3 million duty taxes seizure case send to collector for adjudication.
Additional Collector Talib Hussain told that he observed several times values duty and taxes involved in the seizure cases were reported by seizing officer himself without any assessment by the appraisement staff in customs dry Port.
Additional Collector Customs Adjudication Talib Hussain has shown exceptional performance by issuing final Order-in-Original (ONO) in 32 seizure cases of Rs 64.8 million during on-going fiscal year 2021-22 and decided 28 seizure cases of Rs 54.76 million so far in the current month of economic year.
Customs Adjudication is playing its active role in the eradication of Customs’ ills through effective reforms in the administrative process by giving fruitful recommendations to Federal Board of Revenue.
