KARACHI: An Appellate bench of High Court of Sindh on Tax side dismissed a Special Customs Reference Application (SCRA) filed by one Parkash Lal against Deputy Collector of Customs, Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue and others.
As per details the applicant agitated solitary question that the Tribunal has failed to deliver its decision within the time frame as provided under the proviso to the section 194-B of the Customs Act 1969 and this alone would render the impugned judgment/decision null and void.
The bench after hearing the counsel of both sides and examining the relevant portion of law said that critical examination of the provisions reveal that there are no consequential effects provided under section 194-B of the Customs Act 1969 to a decision beyond 60 days time or within such extended period as the Tribunal may, for the reasons to be recorded in writing, fix. It was further noted that Tribunals have been given authority to extend the time period as may deem fit. The bench then citing case laws of apex court dismissed the SCRA in limine holding that “if the act is directory, its non-compliance or strict adherence does not entail invalidity or conversely if the act is mandatory, its dis-obedience ended up in serious legal consequences and leads to invalidity of such action”.