ISLAMABAD – Peshawar High Court imposed substantial financial penalties on customs officials, sending clear warning against illegal conduct, reckless litigation, and defiance of lawful orders.
Court slapped exemplary costs of Rs5Lac on the Collector Customs, Peshawar, for filing what it termed frivolous constitutional petition challenging decisions of Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) and President of Pakistan. In an even more damaging finding, the Court ordered the officers responsible for the unlawful destruction of seized goods to pay Rs500,000 as compensation to the complainant, in addition to the full value of the destroyed goods.
Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), was directed to recover the amount from the guilty officers and ensure its deposit into the public exchequer. The explosive case dates back to 2018, when foreign-origin digital receivers were seized from a shop in Peshawar by the Directorate of Intelligence and Investigation (Customs) in coordination with other agencies. The Collector (Adjudication) initially ordered outright confiscation of the goods. However, on appeal, the Customs Appellate Tribunal (CAT), Peshawar, set aside the decision and remanded the case, directing the authorities to issue a speaking order after providing a proper opportunity of hearing.
After the remand, Collector (Adjudication) ordered unconditional release of goods after trader conclusively established lawful import through valid Goods Declarations (GDs). Crucially, the order attained finality as no appeal was filed.
Shockingly, despite the final and binding release order, the complainant was later informed that the goods had already been destroyed.
The trader approached Federal Tax Ombudsman, seeking either enforcement of the release order or compensation equal to the market value of the goods. After a detailed investigation, the FTO ruled that the destruction was illegal, unjustified, and carried out in undue haste, especially since the goods were neither perishable nor unfit for use. Ombudsman held the customs officials guilty of maladministration under Section 2(3)(i)(a) and (d) of the FTO Ordinance, citing incompetence, inefficiency, administrative excesses, and wrongful invocation of Section 169(4) of the Customs Act.
Customs Department challenged the FTO’s findings before the President of Pakistan, but the representation was categorically rejected, thereby upholding the Ombudsman’s decision in full.
Collector Customs then filed constitutional petition before Peshawar High Court. A two-member bench, comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Muhammad Faheem Wali, dismissed the petition outright, observing that Article 212 of Constitution serves as critical safeguard against abuse of power, reckless disregard of public duties, and unlawful exercise of authority by state officials.
Court further directed Chairman, FBR, to constitute a committee to assess loss suffered by the complainant and ensure prompt payment of compensation. It also ordered a formal inquiry against the officials involved in the illegal destruction of the goods.
While imposing exemplary costs, the Court noted that the egregious abuse of power and the attempt to defend illegality through frivolous litigation warranted stern financial consequences.
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