KARACHI: A review application filed by Directorate of Intelligence & Investigations seeking stay of order passed on 7-2-2020 by a customs appellate bench of High Court of Sindh comprising Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi and Justice Mahmood A Khan in alleged mega steel scam was dismissed on Friday by the same bench.
The bench also imposed a cost of rupees 10000 each on respondents including DIT.
The Directorate of I&I filed the review application to stay the order which required of the custom’s collectorate concerned to release the consignments of petitioner Balochistan Engineering, Steel Vision.
The bench in four petitions ordered release while directing the adjudication collectorate to decide the remaining allied cases against different importer alleged to be part of smuggling ring operative since 10 years and causing a loss of billions of rupees to the national revenue.
The review application said that applicant DIT intends to challenge the Order in Original passed by the Adjudication Collector Muhammad Iqbal Bhawana on the basis of contravention report made by the KEPZ custom collectorate, ignoring the contravention report made by the detecting collectorate i.e. DIT.
The applicant DIT maintained that Special Customs Appellate Tribunal is dysfunctional and if order of SHC is implemented by the Adjudication Collectorate, government will face a huge revenue loss.
The SHC bench today after a brief hearing expressing displeasure over contents and basis of the review application dismissed the same while imposing a cost of rupees 10000 each on respondents.
The DIT will be moving the Supreme Court challenging the today’s order.