KARACHI: The Customs Appellate Tribunal has rejected the appeal filed by Appraisement Collectorate and upheld the judgment of collector Appeals who struck down the demand created by the Customs appraisement against M/s Loyal Traders.

According to the details of the case, Loyal Traders imported five consignments of ETP Iron and Steel sheets of prime quality at the declared transaction value of $700/MT vide various IGM numbers. It was suspected that the value declared by the importer was not the transaction value of the goods because ETP Iron & Steel Sheets of secondary quality were being assessed / cleared at 916/MT in view of the (suspended) valuation bearing No. Misc/13/2006/iv-A, issued by the Directorate General of Customs Valuation.

Consequently, the goods were assessed provisionally at $980/MT (DV + 40% loading) by securing the differential amount of duty and taxes between declared and ascertained values and the matter referred to the Directorate General for determination of customs value of the goods.

The Directorate General advised to finalize the assessment at $920/MT. The Deputy Collector of Customs Appraisement Group-III held that, it is abundantly clear that the imports had under stated the value of the subject goods and the charges leveled in the show cause notice stand established consequently.

The provisional assessment was finalized at $920/MT and the amount of Rs1.007 million stands short recovered from the importer. The importer was directed to deposit the aforesaid mentioned revenue within 15 days.

The said order was assailed before the Collector Appeals Karachi who passed the order and allow the appeal in favour of the importer.

Being dissatisfied with the impugned Order-in-Appeal the Collector of Customs Model Customs Collectorate of Appraisement challenged the Order-in-appeal before the Tribunal.

After observing facts and figures and hearing both the parties, the Tribunal observed that being custodian of law, the Courts are required to maintain the norms of natural justice and equity. Litigants are to be respected not on account of Court’s power to legalize injustice on technical grounds but to remove injustice.

By doing so, and in respectful agreement with findings, the Tribunal did not find any legal infirmity nor found any perverse evidence to interfere in the Order of Collector Appeals and rejected the appeal filed by Customs Appraisement.