KARACHI: One after another the judgments rendered by Special Customs Appellate Tribunal, Karachi have been set aside by a custom appellate bench of High Court of Sindh remanding them back for fresh adjudication.
This time 3 SCRA’s 757,758 and 759 filed by Director General, Directorate of Intelligence & Investigations Pakistan Customs against Ghulam Rasool & Co, Lahore in year 2022 were remanded back to the tribunal as it ignored the crucial issue of Limitation as appeals were filed by a delay of 164 days.
As the SCRA’s came up for hearing Khalid Mehmood Rajpar appeared for the DIT, Pakistan Customs and took the plea that tribunal has accepted the false contention of the respondent company that customs has failed in service of the order passed in the hierarchy of the department in terms of Section 215 of the Customs Act 1969 and therefore delay is condoned.
Mr Rajpar demonstrated before the SHC bench that department has placed all material and relevant record pertaining to service and has taken such plea in their respective comments. He further submitted that the pleadings and record have been disregarded by the tribunal in the impugned judgment and issue of limitation has been unceremoniously brushed aside and therefore it would be just and proper to set aside the said judgments and remand the matters for fresh decision to determine the question of limitation at the very onset based on the record available as settled in case law reported as 2025 PTD 883.
Amjad Hayat Adovcate counsel appearing for the respondent company argued that the issue of limitation is mere technicality hence this Court may please discard the same and hear the matter on merit.
The bench after hearing the sides set aside the impugned orders and remanded the cases for fresh adjudication.
Full text of Order follows: