WORLD TRADERS VS COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS, LAHORE, 2003 PTD-SUPREME-COURT 2071 (2002)

(On appeal from the judgment, dated 30-5-2002 passed in Customs Appeal No.271 of 2002 by the Lahore High Court, Lahore).

Customs Act (IV of 1969)---

----S. 196---Constitution of Pakistan (1973), Art. 185(3)---Appellate jurisdiction of High Court---Powers---Remand of case to Authorities for decision afresh---Consignment imported by the petitioner was confiscated by Adjudicating Officer---High Court in exercise of powers conferred under S.196 of Customs Act, 1969, remanded the matter to the Authorities for decision afresh---Validity---High Court had rightly pointed out certain illegalities in the procedure adopted by Appellate Tribunal---High Court having passed only a remand order, the petitioner would be well within his right to raise all objections before the Appellate Tribunal---Supreme Court declined to interfere with the judgment passed by High Court---Leave to appeal was refused.  

Civil Appeal No.377 of 2001 distinguished.

Malik Ashiq Hussain, Advocate Supreme Court and Tanvir Ahmed, Advocate-on-Record for Petitioner.

A. Karim Malik, Advocate Supreme Court for Respondent.

Date of hearing : 11th December, 2002.

JUDGMENT

TANVIR AHMED KHAN, J.---Leave to appeal is sought against the judgment, dated 30th of May, 2002, whereby appeal filed by the respondent was accepted and the case was remitted to the learned Custom Excise and Sales Tax Appellate Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as Tribunal) to decide the matter.

2. Facts briefly are that the petitioner imported, an assignment which was confiscated by the Adjudicating Officer. The matter was agitated before the Tribunal comprising of learned Chairman and the Member Technical. The learned Chairman disagreed with the proposed order recorded by Member Technical, whereupon he framed a question and referred the same to the Third Member Technical based at Karachi. The Third Member agreed with the proposed order of the Chairman, whereupon the latter accepted the appeal treating it a final order of the Tribunal. However, he sent the order to the First Member Technical who again wrote certain objections pointing out his own view second time.

3. The respondent filed Civil Appeal No.271 of 2002 under section 196 of the Customs Act 1969 against the said order which has been accepted through the impugned judgment. The case has been remanded by the learned Judges detailing out the legal flaws in the order. Hence this petition for leave to appeal.

4. We have considered the contentions and have gone through the record appended with this petition. We have noticed that the learned Judges of the Lahore High Court have pointed out certain illegalities in the procedure adopted by the learned Tribunal. They have pinpointed said flaws in para-6 of the judgment. The argument of the learned counsel that the case be remitted to the High Court in line with the earlier judgment passed by this Court in Civil Appeal No.377 of 2001 is not apt. Said case is totally distinguishable from the facts of the present case. It is only a remand order and the petitioner would be well within his right to raise all the objections before the Tribunal.

Resultantly, the petition being without any force is dismissed and the leave refused.

M.H./W-40/S Petition dismissed.