KARACHI: Syed Faiz Rasool Rashidi, judge Special Customs Court on Friday admitted two accused Muhammad Farooq of Farooq Corporation and Karim Bux of Sai Enterprises to pre-arrest bail. Ghulam ullah Sheikh advocate of Franklin Law Associates represented the accused/applicants.
The accused were booked by Directorate of Customs Intelligence (Enforcement) and MCC Appraisement West simultaneously after a dispute between the two wings of Pakistan Customs over jurisdiction.
The Court received both the FIRs and said it would ascertain the jurisdiction, after which one of the FIRs would be accepted.
As per the facts reported by Directorate of Customs Intelligence, information was received that M/s Farooq Corporation was importing baby tricycle battery operated in the garb of baby trike parts through mis-declaration of description and gross under valuation.
Monitoring was kept and a GD filed through M/s Sai Enterprises after having been cleared was assigned to gate out staff through Yellow Channel. The consignment was online blocked and upon examination was found to be containing Baby Tricycle battery operated instead of declared baby trike parts. An amount of Rs0.992 million was evaded.
However, MCC Appraisement reports that the said consignment was selected for physical examination as a routine scrutiny in order to confirm declaration so made.on examination consignment was found to be ride-on rechargeable tricycle single seater against the declared baby trike parts. MCC Appraisement West also recorded evasion of Rs0.99 million.
Now, both Directorate and Collectorate are claiming jurisdiction over the case and both are reporting different facts. Court will decide the jurisdiction of the case and afterwards, the case would proceed.
It may be mentioned here that both MCC Appraisement West and Directorate of Customs Intelligence (Enforcement) have lodged FIRs under Section 32(1), 32(2) and 32A.
Faisal Ghani, Chief Advisor of Franklin Law Associates told Customs News that they will be moving Sindh High Court for quashing of the cases (FIRs) as two cases were registered by the custom authorities on single cause of action