MUHAMMAD MOINUR REHMAN through Attorney VS CENTRAL BOARD OF REVENUE
2005 P T D 935
[Karachi High Court]
Before Muhammad Mujeebullah Siddiqui and Azizullah M. Memon, JJ
MUHAMMAD MOINUR REHMAN through Attorney
versus
CENTRAL BOARD OF REVENUE through Chairman, Islamabad and 2 others
Constitutional Petition No. 8 of 2002, decided on /01/.
25th September, 2002. Customs Act (IV of 1969)---
----S. 25---Constitution of Pakistan (1973), Art. 199---Constitutional petition---Amnesty Scheme for regularizing smuggled vehicles on payment of customs duty---Production of vehicle before Customs officials for its proper assessment was condition precedent for availing such scheme---Non-production of vehicle within stipulated period---Dismissal of petitioner s representation by Member (Legal), Central Board of Revenue---Validity---Production of vehicle before Customs officials after presentation of Constitutional petition would be inconsequentialasAmnestySchemehadalreadyexpiredmuchearlier---No illegality, infirmity and material irregularity was found in impugned order---High Court dismissed Constitutional petition is limine.
Khawaja Naved Ahmed for Petitioner.
Raja Muhammad Iqbal for Respondent.
Date of hearing: 25th September, 2002.
JUDGMENT
MUHAMMAD MUJEEBULLAH SIDDIQUI, J.---In this Petition under Article 199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, the grievance of the petitioner is that the Member, C.B.R. has misdirected in rejecting his representation for acceptance of customs duty, under Amnesty Scheme, which expired on 30-5-1998.
Mr. Raja Muhammad Iqbal, learned counsel for the respondent has submitted that the condition precedent for availing the Amnesty Scheme was that smuggled vehicle shall be produced before the customs officials for its proper assessment; whereafter it shall be regularized on recovery of customs duty in accordance with amnesty scheme. Mr. Raja Muhammad Iqbal submitted that the petitioner has never produced the vehicle before the Customs official during stipulated period in spite of reminders. He has further submitted that the Amnesty Scheme announced on 1998 expired, and the second Amnesty Scheme was announced in the year 2000, which has also expired. The representation ofthe petitioner has been dismissed by theMember(Legal)C.B.R.videorder,dated4-12-2001 for the same reason.
We asked Mr. Khawaja Naved Ahmed to show that the vehicle was presented before the Custom officials within the period specified in the Amnesty Scheme. He has conceded that there is nothing in his possession to show that the vehicle was presented before the customs officials within the stipulated period. He has submitted that however, after presentation of this Petition before this Court, the vehicle was produced before the Customs officials. The date of presentation of vehicle is not known to the learned counsel for the petitioner. Be that as it may, the fact remains that the vehicle in question was never produced before the Customs officials, before the presentation of this Constitution Petition. The subsequent presentation of vehicle before Customs official is inconsequential, for the reason that the Amnesty Scheme had already expired much earlier.
For the foregoing reasons we do not find any illegality, infirmity and material irregularity in the impugned order, dated 4-12-2001, passed by the learned Member (Legal) C.B.R. The Petition is consequently dismissed in limine along with listed-application.
S.A.K./M-187/KPetition dismissed.