KARACHI: An appellate bench of High Court of Sindh (SHC) headed by Justice Munib Akhtar fixed Aug 24 for final and decisive hearing of a petition filed by Horizon International.
The case was remanded back by a bench of Supreme Court of Pakistan with a direction to decide the same within a month’s time.
Today the bench taking up the petition told the sides that in view of the direction by the apex court, the hearing is fixed for Aug 24 when it will hear the arguments in detail and conclude the same,
The department challenged an interim order passed by an appellate bench of SHC headed by Justice Munib Akhtar wherein appellant department was directed to release the grey fabric as an interim arrangement.
The consignments were detained on alleged ground that grey fabric imported from Dubai was in fact made in India and import of such material of Indian origin was banned.
The respondents/importers maintained that the fabric in dispute was of China origin and as per Bill of Landing (B/L) it was lawfully imported from Dubai’s free port.
The customs disputed the same alleging that no company in China make the fabric in dispute. The SHC however as an interim arrangement ordered release of the consignments on payment of custom duty and other taxes but the department preferred an appeal against this order.
On a previous Ghulam Hyder Shaikh, Ghulamullah Shaikh advocates duly instructed by Faisal Ghani, CEO of Franklin Law Associates defended the order passed by the SHC. He relied on BL from Dubai and said as purchaser/importer they cannot ask the seller at Dubai about the origin of the item in dispute, however they were convinced by the seller that fabric was “made in China”.