KARACHI, Feb 4: A division bench of the Sindh High Court on Monday ordered status quo in the ongoing dispute between the Customs department and the FIA.

The order was passed by the bench, comprising Justice Zahid Kurban Alavi and Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany, when the constitutional petition filed by officers of the customs department came up.

Petitioners Chaudhry Fazal Dad, Abdul Rahman Kurd, Agha Mohammad Aslam, Ghulam Yasin and Zaheer Ahmed Khan were represented by Barrister Khalid Jawed Khan.

Counsel Khan contended that the question of classification and valuation of any item imported into the country was within the exclusive domain of customs authorities under the Customs Act, 1969 and the FIA had no jurisdiction to interfere in the matter.

The dispute had arisen in the context of import of certain printers/printing machines. The customs officers had classified and valued these machines in accordance with the provisions of the Custom Act, 1969, and various rules and GCOs issued thereunder. The importers included Nadra and various other private parties.

Disageering with the determination by the customs officers, the FIA got involved on its own initiative. The concerned additional collector of customs explained the issue in detail with particular reference to Customs Act, 1969, yet the FIA registered FIRs against various parties, their clearing agents and customs officers.