KARACHI: The meticulous arguments advanced Sardar Zafar Hussain Advocate representing Collector of Customs (East) in a Special Customs Reference Application filed against Messer’s Dargai Polymer (Pvt) Limited, Malakand, a custom appellate bench of High Court of Sindh (SHC) comprising Justice Zulfiqar Ahmed Khan and Justice Rashida Asad suspended the order passed by Customs Appellate Tribunal in Appeal No. K-1478/2023.
The bench also ordered issuance of notices to the respondent of two questions of law with orders to fix the hearing after summer vacations.
The court after hearing arguments by Sardar Zafar Hussain ordered notice with reference to following questions of law.
a) Whether the Customs Appellate Triubunal erred in law to ignore that importer intentionally and simultaneously was filing Goods Declarations for TP and Home Consumption, hence the claim of refund does not fall in the category of in-advertance error, misconception or Court’s order is required under Rule 34-A of Sale Tax Rules 2006.
b) Whether the Customs Appellate Tribunal erred in law to ignore that the importer consciously opted to file HC type of GD instead of TP type of GD and was well aware of the procedural requirement. Moreover the tribunal’s order does not conclusively establishes that HC GDs of the importer were verified to have consumed against the consumption certificates so produced as the same are not mentioned in the letter of Commissioner IRS dated 08.11.2022 cited in Tribunal’s order
As per details the importer seeking exemptions available to importers operating in SATA/PATA sought refund of duty and taxes claiming that goods were consumed domestically but as per Customs, items were pilfered and sold in open market instead of designated destination.