KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has issued a notice to the revenue division secretary, the Appraisement-East collector and the R&D deputy collector, asking them to file their respective replies to a petition of an importer seeking release of a consignment of auto parts.
Petitioner Muhammad Amin Yahya moved the court, submitting that he had imported a consignment of automotive body parts weighing about 15.37 metric tonnes and subsequently filed goods declaration dated May 22 and paid customs duty and taxes.
The petitioner’s counsel said that the consignment was re-examined by the officers of the Research and Development (R&D) Section and resultantly, the petitioner was required to pay more duty and taxes amounting to Rs 2,280,914, which he also paid. When the petitioner’s carrier approached the terminal operator for transhipment of the consignment, it was declined delivery.
The petitioner complained to the judges that the customs staff had illegally detained the consignment; nevertheless, he had made payments of all duty and taxes after examination and re-examination of the consignment. His consignment was held without any plausible reason, he said, adding that it was lying on the port incurring hefty amount of demurrage.
The petitioner pleaded the court to declare that the customs authorities had illegally held the consignment declared vide GD No KAPE-HC-146599 dated May 22.
The court was requested to order the authorities to release the consignment of the petitioner. After initial hearing, a division bench headed by Justice Sajjad Ali Shah issued a notice to the customs authorities to file comments by September 2.
