KARACHI: A petition filed by Custom & Sales Tax Practitioners Association against delay in appointment of members and chairman of Special Customs Appellate Tribunal (SCAT) will be heard by a division bench of High Court of Sindh on Oct 01.
The bench comprising Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi and Justice Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan issued preadmission notices to the respondents after hearing initial arguments by Aqeel Ahmed Advocate, Secretary of the association who submitted that out of 11posts, nine posts of member technical and judicial are lying vacant as Federal government is delaying the appointments for no reason.
Under Section 194 of Customs Act 1969, Prime Minister is empowered to make the appointments but since July 2020 these posts are vacant due to indecision at the top level.
The lawyers and importers are facing hardships due to absence of benches and piling up of appeals with each passing day therefore, petitioner association filed the instant petition, argued Aqeel Ahmed Advocate.
The bench after preliminary hearing ordered issuance of pre-admission notices ot the respondents for Oct 01.