KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) directed Nazir of SHC to release the securities/guarantees furnished by the petitioner regarding demands for Anti-Dumping Duty on constitutional petitions filed by M/s Yunus Textile Mills Ltd and others against customs officials over demands of Anti-Dumping Duty.
On 12 March 2021, during the hearing, Ovais Ali Shah, Jam Zeshan, Qazi Umair Ali, Ayan Mustafa Memon, Rana Sakhawat Ali, Naeem Suleman, Arshad Hussain, Faiz Durrani along with Saima Faiz Durrani, Ali Nawaz Khuhawar, Ameen M. Bandukda, Advocates appeared behalf of the petitioners and Khalid Rajpar, Aamir Raza, Azhar Ali holding brief for Dr. Shahab Imam, Mr. Muhammad Rashid Arfi, Muhabbat Husssain Awan, Afsheen Aman, Muhammad Khalil Dogar, Ms. Durdana Tanveer holding brief for Mr. Shakeel Ahmed, Mr. Zafar Imam, Mr. Tariq Aziz, Principal Appraiser, Port Qasim. Mr. Muhammad Ahmar, Assistant Attorney General appeared and completed their arguments.
Muhammad Muhammad Khalil Dogar and Muhammad Rashid Arfi, Advocates have filed vakalatanmas on behalf of respondents in respective petitions, which are taken on record, Ovais Ali Shah has made his submissions on behalf of the Petitioners which have been adopted by all other learned Counsel for the Petitioners, whereas, learned Assistant Attorney General has assisted on behalf of the Federation of Pakistan, pursuant to notice dated 18.02.2021 under Order 27A CPC. Insofar as Respondents are concerned, they submit that the department is only a collecting agency in respect of Anti-Dumping Duty.
The petitioners have challenged vires of section 151 of the Finance Act, 2019, whereby various amendments were made in the Anti-Dumping Duties Act, 1 15. Amendments of Anti-Dumping Duties Act, 2015 (XIV of 2015). —In the Anti-Dumping Duties Act, 2015 (XIV of 2015), in section 51, in sub-section (1), — (a) in clause (c), after the semicolon, at the end, the word “or”, shall be added; and (b) in clause (d), for the expression “; or”, a full stop shall be substituted and thereafter clause (e) shall be omitted 2 2015, including omission of sub-section (e) of section 512 of the said Act.
After the hearing, the court passed the order and observed that “arguments heard. For reasons to be recorded later on, these Petitions are allowed in the following terms: –
It is hereby declared that amendment made through section 15 of the Finance Act, 2019 in the Anti-Dumping Duties Act, 2015, passed through Money Bill (and not through an Act of Parliament) does not fall within the parameters prescribed under Article 73 of the Constitution of Pakistan, 1973, hence, is ultra vires to the Constitution, and is hereby struck down.
As a consequence, therefore, the impugned show cause notices / order(s) [if any], issued to or against the Petitioners respectively, are declared to be unlawful and are hereby quashed.
- The securities/guarantees furnished pursuant to interim orders, passed respectively in these Petitions are hereby discharged. Nazir of this Court/ Customs Collectorates concerned shall release the same to the Petitioners upon proper identification.
- The goods covered by the aforesaid petitions in respect of which ad interim orders are yet to be passed shall be released without raising demands for Anti-Dumping Duty which had become payable pursuant to omission of exemption clause (e) of section 51 of the Anti-Dumping Duties Act, 2015”.
