SHC Allows SCRA Filed by Pakistan Customs on Jurisdictional Issue
KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has allowed a Special Customs Reference Application (SCRA) filed by Pakistan Customs against a decision by the Single. Member of the Customs Appellate Tribunal. The court remanded the case back to the tribunal for a decision by a two-member bench.
The ruling came from the Customs Appellate Bench of the SHC, which included Justice Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar and Justice Mohammad Abdur Rahman. The key issue was whether a case involving duties exceeding five million should be heard by a single-member bench or a two-member bench of the Customs Appellate Tribunal.
At the beginning of the hearing, Kazim Raza, Registrar of the Customs Tribunal, presented a report. It revealed that the matter was initially brought before a two-member bench on January 24, 2024. However, Mr. Afzal Bhatti, the counsel for the appellant/respondent, argued that the appeal involved an amount less than five million, meaning it fell under the jurisdiction of a single-member bench. The two-member bench agreed with this argument and ordered that the appeal be referred to the Chairman of the Customs Appellate Tribunal.
The SHC bench, upon reviewing the tribunal’s decision, noted that the appeal had been referred to the chairman based only on the respondent’s lawyer’s claim, without the bench providing its own reasoning. After reviewing the Show Cause Notice, the bench noted that the duty and taxes involved in this case were over five million.
The bench then questioned Rana Sakhawat, counsel for the respondent, who argued that the respondent had only claimed a part of the seized goods worth less than five million. The SHC bench disagreed with this argument, stating that the Customs Appellate Tribunal had not issued a “reasoned order.” Furthermore, the jurisdiction of the tribunal could not be determined based on the respondent’s lawyer’s claim. The issue of jurisdiction should be based on the Show Cause Notice and the Order in Original, which address the amount in question.
The SHC bench ruled in favor of the department, answering the legal question affirmatively. The case was then remanded to the Customs Appellate Tribunal to be heard by a two-member bench.
