KARACHI: The Customs Appellate Tribunal Karachi is allegedly over-stepping its boundaries harassing and threatening the Customs officials and forcing the officials to do things, which cannot be considered legal.[the_ad id=”31605″]According to details, Directorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigation Karachi seized a Nissan car on suspicion of the car being smuggled. The chassis numbers were also found tampered.
The Adjudication, however, ruled in favor of the owner of car Kashif Hussain. Subsequently, the department approached Customs Appellate Tribunal challenging the order-in-original. Tribunal upheld the order-in-original and ordered release of the vehicle.
Dissatisfied, the department approached High Court. Meanwhile, the Chairman Customs Appellate Tribunal forced the officials of Directorate of Customs Intelligence and Investigation Karachi to deliver the vehicle to the owner.
Since the official was not authorized to make the delivery as the case was already in High Court, Chairman Appellate Tribunal threatened the official and forced him to make the delivery of the vehicle.
Finally, the Customs official agreed to deliver the vehicle to the Tribunal and not the owner Kashif Hussain. The Customs official noted in his remarks that he is being forced to sign the handing over of the vehicle despite the fact SCRA was pending before High Court.
An official said Adjudication and Tribunals were mostly according undue favors to the accused not only causing the revenue loss but also burdening the officials with litigation. A large number of orders and judgments passed by Adjudication and Tribunals are challenged in the superior courts, which also over burden the courts.
The official said most of the orders and judgments passed by Adjudication and Tribunals are reversed by the superior courts and yet there is no accountability of Adjudication officers and Tribunals.