Collector of Customs, Customs Collectorate of Appraisement (East), Karachi v. M/s Forte Marketing Services, Lahore and M/s RAK Trading Marketing Services, Lahore

Case summary

The judgment in brief

The Supreme Court held that a valuation ruling under section 25A of the Customs Act remains binding until revised or rescinded; Rule 107's 90-day period concerns valuation data, not the ruling's legal life.

Question of law

The legal question

Whether a Valuation Ruling validly issued under section 25A of the Customs Act ceases to operate merely upon expiry of ninety days, permitting the assessing officer to disregard it and assess the goods on transaction value under section 25(1).

Court holding

What the Court decided

No. The ninety-day period in Rule 107(a) concerns the temporal proximity of valuation data used in applying valuation methods; it does not prescribe the legal duration of a section 25A Valuation Ruling. Under section 25A(4), the ruling remains applicable and binding until revised or rescinded by the competent authority.

Result

Outcome and directions

The thirty petitions were converted into appeals and allowed. The Sindh High Court judgment dated 16 November 2022 was set aside, and Valuation Ruling No. 874 of 2016 was held operative for the assessments in question.

Practical effect

What the decision means in practice

The thirty petitions were converted into appeals and allowed. The Sindh High Court judgment dated 16 November 2022 was set aside, and Valuation Ruling No. 874 of 2016 was held operative for the assessments in question.

This summary states the immediate effect recorded in the decision. The original judgment and the facts of the particular case remain controlling.