Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: While setting aside the judgments of the Sessions Court and the Peshawar High Court (PHC), the Supreme Court of Pakistan has ruled that these courts are not authorised to pass judgments pertaining to the fate of non-customs paid imported vehicles.

The apex court of the country further ruled that the Customs Court was the authorised forum which could decide the cases regarding the grant of “Superdari” of non-customs paid vehicles.

The ruling was made on Wednesday after a two-judge bench of the top court headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan heard the petition of the Director Intelligence and Investigation (Customs) FBR, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, wherein the judgment of the PHC over two non-customs paid and disputed vehicles was challenged.

Earlier in September last year, Justice Ikramullah Khan of the PHC D.I. Khan Bench had held two reasons for releasing the disputed vehicle; firstly the vehicle claimed by Fazal Ghani was not a tempered one. Secondly, being duly registered by the concerned police of District Bannu, it could not be handed over to customs authorities.

The local police of D.I Khan had taken into possession two motor cars of 2007 models bearing fake number plates from accused Abdul Wali and Abdul Habib in November 2014 under section 523/550 CrPC and obtained a permission from the judicial magistrate for inquiry after which both cars were found non-customs paid and imported.

However, in the instant petition under Article 185(3) filed by customs officials, the State and Additional Session Judge V, apprised that Section 187 of the Customs Act, 1969 had not been duly met.

Raising another law point the petition stated whether Section 217 of the Customs Act 1969 was ignored by the PHC adding Section 170 of the said act was not correctly implemented.

The petition contended that the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) revealed that the chassis number plate of the vehicle had been replaced but the single judge of the PHC ignored the revelation that the chassis number plate has been cut and another sheet bearing the present number had been welded in its place which was a conclusive proof that the vehicles had been smuggled into the country without paying duty.

During the course of hearing the counsel for the petitioner informed the court that the FSL report evidently showed that the vehicles were smuggled and had deprived the national exchequer of its legitimate duty and taxes.

He further argued that with the Customs Act being a Federal Act, the jurisdiction of custom authorities would prevail over the matter of duty and taxes adding that the local police of Bannu had no jurisdiction to register a non-duty paid vehicle and allow the same to be plied on the roads.

He argued that if the impugned judgment of the PHC remained in the field it would deprive the government exchequer from public revenue which it was legally entitled to recover.