KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) directed customs officials to consider the request of the petitioner for provisional release of the consignment subject to deposit amount of duty and taxes by way of bank guarantee/pay order before the collectorate concerned on a petition filed by M/s Naveed Trading Corporation seeking release of consignment of iron/steel products including galvanized steel coils of secondary quality.
While the hearing the petition, a two-member bench, headed by Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi also issued notices to customs officials and directed them to file their para-wise comments on the next date of hearing.
On January 21, 2019, counsel for the petitioner stated in his petition that petitioner is mainly engaged in the import of the above-mentioned goods and a consignment of the petitioner is lying at the port and being withheld from clearance by the customs authorities repeating their illegal practices in violation of the customs tribunal’s order.
He further argued that respondents have rejected the transactional value of the petitioner without giving any cogent reasons and have demanded that the petitioner along with its import documents, submitted values taken from the London Metal Exchange for the purpose of assessing their goods.
Citing secretary Revenue Division, chief collector of Appraisement West, DG Valuation and others as respondents, petitioner pleaded the court to declare that respondent’s arbitrary manner of assessing the petitioner’s goods is patently illegal and against the spirit of the Customs Act, 1969.
He further pleaded the court may direct them to release consignment of the petitioner on their transactional value and restrain them from taking any coercive action against the petitioner till final order in this petition.
