Lower judiciary can’t release vehicles on Superdari: SC

Asks why over 0.4m non-customs paid cars roaming in K-P

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the district and sessions and high courts had no jurisdiction to release vehicles on ‘superdari’ (temporary custody) without the payment of customs duty.

The two-judge bench of the apex court, comprising Justice Ejaz Afzal and Justice Qazi Faez Isa, asked Advocate-General of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa why the government failed to impound more than 400,000 non-customs paid (NCP) vehicles in the province.

The bench, hearing the appeal filed by Director of Intelligence and Investigation (Customs), FBR, Islamabad, set aside a verdict of the Peshawar High Court on temporary custody (superdari) of two NCP cars.

During the hearing, the court was informed that the K-P government had decided on September 10, 2014 to get NCP vehicles of Internally-Displaced Persons (IDPs) provisionally registered.

Standing counsel Nayab Gardezi argued that the Customs Act being a Federal Act, the jurisdiction of Customs authorities would prevail over the matter of duty and taxes, adding that Bannu police had no jurisdiction to register a non-duty paid vehicle and allow the same to ply on road.

Upon this, Justice Ejaz remarked that the provincial government had no power to override the federal legislative list.

Similarly, Ahmed Nawaz Chaudhry, the counsel for a respondent in the matter, apprised the bench that Javed Marwat, who is the DG Excise & Taxation of the KP, Jamil Nasir Khan, Additional  Collector, Customs, Peshawar, Zahir Shah, Additional Secretary (D&F) Home Department, Abdul Kamal, Deputy Secretary Home Department, Muntazir Khan, Deputy Secretary, Home Department, Akbar Ali, Superintendent Police Swat and five other officers discussed the issue of arrival of NCP vehicles in settled districts of KP in the wake of military operation in North Waziristan.

During that meeting, it was decided to take preventive measures to streamline the operation of NCP vehicles movement in specific areas.

The DG Excise & Taxations proposed that for administrative convenience, provisional registration of the NCP vehicles of IDPs may be started by a committee under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner concerned with the Excise & Taxation Officer and the DSP headquarters.

After getting approval from the competent authority, provisional registration of the NCP vehicles of the IDPs in districts Bannu, Dera Ismail Khan and Lakki Marwat was initiated.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30^th, 2016.