KARACHI: A two-member bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC), comprising Justice Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar and Justice Agha Faisal dismissed the constitutional petitions filed by M/S Korea Marine Transport Company Ltd as not pressed against customs officials challenging vires of section 14-A of the Customs Act, 1969.
On 8 March 2021, a division bench heard the matter, during the hearing, Agha Zafir Ahmed, Advocate for respondents, Kafeel Ahmed Abbasi D.A.G, Muhammad Bilal Bhatti, Advocate for customs department appeared before the court.
During the hearing, counsel for respondents and petitioners made their arguments and after arguments, court observed in its order that “today, at the very outset, in response to our last order passed on 15.02.20211 , learned counsel for the petitioners does not press prayer clause “(d) 2 ”, which is accordingly dismissed as not pressed.
Learned counsel further submits that since the controversy already stands decided in respect of vires of section 14-A of the Customs Act, 1969 vide judgment dated 6.1.2020 passed in C.P.No.D-4867 of 2013 these petitions may also be dismissed in the same terms as the matter is now pending before the Hon’ble Supreme Court of Pakistan and petitioners would also seek such remedy before the Hon’ble Supreme Court.
It appeared that a learned Division Bench of this Court seized with the issue has already decided that Section 14-A of the Customs Act, 1969 is intra vires; that the contention of the petitioners cannot be accepted on the ground that the Customs Act, could not have been amended under Article 73 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 through a money bill.
Accordingly, all these petitions also merit no consideration and are hereby dismissed for the reasons so assigned hereinabove by the learned Division Bench of this Court in the case of Qasim International Container Terminal Pakistan Limited (Supra). Office to place a copy of this order in connected files”.
