KARACHI: M/s Green Cycle has contested the FIR lodged against them by MCC Port Qasim. The FIR accuses M/s Green Cycle Enterprises of attempting to clear goods by mis-declaring their description and classification, thereby evading federal excise duty.
The sequence of events began when the importer filed the Goods Declaration (GD) on July 23rd, with Customs examining the goods on July 24th. The GD process was completed on the same day. However, the shipper informed the importer that the cargo received was “Frustrated Cargo.” This information was communicated to the Collector via a letter received on July 26th, which also mentioned the need for re-export.
Despite this, Customs sent samples of the consignment to the lab on August 5th and received the lab report on August 6th, after that lodging the FIR on August 20th. The FIR, however, does not mention the exporter’s information provided in the letter received on July 26th.
Green Cycle argues that it is implausible for Customs to have held the consignment and completed the GD on the same day, July 24th. They claim that Customs was aware of the consignment’s status as “Frustrated Cargo” after being informed by the shipper, a fact that was omitted from the FIR.
Furthermore, Green Cycle questions the delay in sending samples to the lab on August 5th and receiving the report on August 6th, if the consignment was indeed held on July 24th. They highlight a 28-day delay in lodging the FIR from the purported date of hold and a 14-day delay from the date of the lab report, suggesting that Customs would not have delayed the FIR if they had prior information.