Bharti Airtel Lanka (Pvt) Ltd vs The Director General of Customs – CA WRIT APPLICATION NO.51/2010-2013

In the matter of Bharti Airtel Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. v. The Director General of Customs and others, the Court addressed the legality of Customs’ seizure of imported cellular microwave links, focusing on the correct customs classification under the Harmonized System (HS) Code, the applicability of BOI (Board of Investment) duty-free status, and the permissible conduct of Customs officers amid a classification dispute. It was held that seizure of goods by Customs in the context of a bona fide dispute over classification—absent fraud or bad faith—was ultra vires, and that the appropriate course was to secure payment of the disputed duty pending resolution of the classification inquiry. The principle established is that seizure powers cannot be exercised solely on the basis of unresolved technical