KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has ruled that hot rolled steel sheets in coils, containing 0.0008 percent or more chemical element ‘boron’ would be classified as alloy steel which would attract zero customs duty on its import.
Chief Justice Faisal Arab, who headed a division bench, gave this verdict on a petition filed by Muhammad Sabir, who moved the court against the customs authorities for unlawfully levying 5 percent customs duty on alloy steel imported from China under Free Trade Agreement.
Petitioner Sabir submitted in the court that he imported hot rolled alloy steel, containing 0.0009 percent boron as per the Mill Test Certificate issued by the manufacturer, classifiable under HS Code 7225,3000. There is zero customs duty on import of alloy steel under FTA with China. Nevertheless, the customs staff is unlawfully charging 5 percent duty on his consignment.
He requested the court to declare that hot rolled steel sheets containing 0.0008 percent or more boron would be classified as alloy steel which attracts zero duty.
Addressing the concern of the custom authorities that non-alloy steel is being imported under the garb of alloy steel on zero duty, the court said that if the customs officials have suspicion that boron is not inherent part of imported hot rolled steel sheets but they were declared as alloy steel to avoid customs duty, they would be at liberty to get the consignment re-examined from laboratory.
The court directed the authorities to carry out examination of these consignments and decide the matters within 90 days.
It ruled that if laboratory tests confirm that hot-rolled steel sheets imported by the respective importers contain 0.0008 percent or more boron and thus they are classified as alloy steel, then customs authorities would issue letters to them for release of bank guarantees or pay orders which they had deposited with Nazir of the court for provisional release of consignments.
It may be mentioned here that the court had directed the importers to deposit differential amount of duty in shape of bank guarantees or pay orders with Nazir of the court for provisional release of their consignments.
