The Collectorate Customs Peshawar in a bid to deprive former overseas Pakistanis of their 'legally imported' vehicles is set to auction five motor cars on Monday.
This was disclosed by Zulfikar, Mian Zayed Gul and Ayaz Gul, former expatriates, while addressing a press conference here at Peshawar Press Club (PPC) on Sunday.
They said that the vehicles were imported under transfer of residents scheme (TRS) and customs officials at dry port registered cases against them only the lack of registration.
They alleged that although the case was with Collector Appeal, but the collector auction is bent upon the auctioning of these five vehicles adding that the collector appeal has also issued stay order in the case. But, the auction department of the customs is still bent upon the auctioning.
According to the former expatriates the Assistant Collector Auction has refused to accept the decision of the Collector Appeal and now they are trying to vacate the stay and put the vehicles on auction by hook or by crook.
They further alleged that collector customs, Peshawar has also joined hands with his assistant collector auction, which has exerted so much pressure on the Collector Appeal that he had held three proceedings of the case within a week.
They said that fourth hearing of the case is going to be held at Customs House, Peshawar today (Monday) and the under pressured Collector Appeal is set to vacate the stay order to pave way for the auctioning of the vehicles.
They said that people visited hundreds of time of the office of the Collector Appeal only for merely for his signature, as a lot of decisions are waiting implementation only due to the signature of the collector appeal. But, in this case has got special attention of the collector appeal and the decision is also expected on the same day.
They said that after the decision of the Collector Appeal, the Customs House will give the delivery of these vehicles.
The victims of the Customs House said that the main cause behind the auctioning of these vehicles is the achievement of the auction target as customs officials are so powerful that no one dares to question their deeds.
They demanded of the President General Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz, Governor NWFP Lieutenant General (Retd) Syed Iftikhar Hussain Shah, Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani, and Chairman Central Board of Revenue (CBR) to intervene into the matter and retrieve the foreign exchange of the labour class owners from auction.
They also demanded action against Assistant Collector Auction for illegal use to his powers.
In this connection, when Business Recorder contacted a known customs clearing agents, he spoke on condition that his name should not be published and said Customs House has the case a matter of prestige and in principles they should have suspend the auction after the granting of stay by the Collector Appeal.
He was of the view that customs officials had hatched a conspiracy that after getting the verdict they would auction the vehicles on the same day.
He said that Assistant Collector Auction has already invited parties to participate in the auction which is nothing but the negation of the justice to the aggrieved party.
Talking of the high handedness of the Customs Collectorate, Peshawar that recently Appellant Tribunal Peshawar has released 100 vehicles from dry port and challenged the decision Peshawar High Court (PHC), which had also rejected their petition. But, in spite decision of PHC they are still not relieving the vehicles and bent upon depriving the country of Rs 30 million revenue.
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