SHC suspends customs court order for de-sealing of smuggled black tea

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has suspended the Customs, taxation and anti-smuggling court order with regard to de-sealing of 2,600 tonnes of black tea seized from markets in Karachi.

The interim order came on appeals filed by the Customs intelligence and investigation wing against the acquittal of accused by the Customs court and release of the seized black tea. The appellant’s counsel, Syed Mehmood Alam Rizvi, submitted that Customs authorities had arrested the respondents and recovered 2,600 tonnes of black tea that had been imported for Azad Jammu & Kashmir but sold in Pakistani markets.

The counsel submitted that the trial court granted the acquittal application of the respondents who were booked under offences for selling black tea in Pakistani market by importing it on exemption intended for Azad Jammu & Kashmir.

The SHC was informed that the trial court acquitted the respondents from charges but also ordered de-sealing of the seized tea. The counsel submitted that the impugned order with regard to release of seized goods was without jurisdiction as the goods had been seized under the section 168 of the Customs Act and proceedings had been initiated for commencing adjudicating proceedings to recover the evaded duty and taxes by confiscation of the said goods.

The counsel submitted that the trial court did not appreciate the distinction between criminal proceedings under the Customs Act which may run concurrently but were independent of each other.

The respondents’ counsel, Ahmed Ali Hussain, submitted that as the intelligence and investigation director general had no jurisdiction in the matter, the seizure of goods too could not be sustained.

A single bench of the high court comprising Justice Adnan Iqbal Chaudhry observed that points raised by the appellants’ counsel had force. The high court issued notices to all the respondents in the case and in the meantime ordered that the second part of the impugned order that related to the release of seized black tea shall remain suspended.