KARACHI: An order passed by Custom Appellate Tribunal, Karachi directing Pakistan Customs to release a Toyota Cygnus Land Cruiser Jeep Model 2005 was suspended by a Custom Appellate bench of High Court of Sindh while hearing a Special Customs Reference Application filed by Directorate of Intelligence & Investigations, Pakistan Customs filed through Khalid Mehmood Rajpar Advocate.
The bench while ordering issuance of notices to the respondents including owner, suspended the order of the tribunal dated 02.05.2024. The value of the vehicle is above five millions and thus order passed by single member (Judicial) was called into question by the department.
As per details, a DIT team intercepted a Toyota Land Cruiser (Cygnus) Jeep bearing Registration No YY-017, Islamabad having Chassis No UZJ100-0152421 at Zam Zama on 24.09.2022 at 1700 hrs. The owner Muhammad Bilal Shah was unable to produce import documents and took the plea that he is a subsequent buyer from open market and has no import papers. The chassis No was found tempered and welded.
The vehicle was impounded and departmental proceedings were initiated. The Order in Original dismissed the defense plea against which the owner filed an appeal before the Custom Appellate Tribunal which set-aside the Order in Original and ordered release of vehicle on the strength of order by Lahore High Court endorsed by Supreme court of Pakistan that import papers of vehicle old than 10 years cannot be demanded.
Arguing the SCRA, Khalid Mehmood Rajpar, counsel for DIT questioned the pecuniary jurisdiction and submitted that case was to be heard and decided by a two member bench as value of vehicle exceeds 5 Million mark.
He also contended that owner failed in discharging burden of proof and here for order of the custom appellate tribunal is not sustainable. He also raised urgency on ground that custom tribunal is pressing for implementation of its orders despite pendency of the SCRA.