The Supreme Court has held that foreign currency up to $10,000 can be taken out of the country in the personal baggage with or without money changers or authorised dealers receipts and the customs authorities cannot ask any question.
A full bench headed by the Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry passed these orders on 9 cases where travellers were taking more than $30,000 each out of the country.
Earlier Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench had held that the foreign currency had been obtained from the moneychangers and that a traveller could take more than $10,000 amount as a personal baggage.
On an appeal by Collector Customs, the apex court set aside the judgement of the Lahore High Court and awarded imprisonment sentence to the guilty.
The Supreme Court observed that an amount higher than $10,000 in foreign currency can be taken only with the permission of authorised dealers as defined in Foreign Currency Regulation Act 1947. The authorised dealers are generally the banks.
The court also considered the notification of 1998, issued by the State Bank of Pakistan whereby the above mentioned limits have been prescribed.
The court appreciated the protection of Economic Reforms Act of 1992, and observed that "transfer" of foreign currency means "transfer" through legal channel with the permission. However exclusion of $10,000 remains and is available to Pakistani citizens travelling abroad.
The three member full bench of the Supreme Court comprised of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Abdul Hamid Dogar and Justice Saeed Ashhad.
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