Karuppiah and Others v. The Director General of Customs – sllr 1998 volume 2 page 256

Brief
In the case between Karuppiah and Others (importers of yeast) and the Director-General of Customs, the court addressed the issue of whether a surcharge imposed under Order A4 (issued pursuant to section 10A of the Customs Ordinance) applied to yeast imported at a statutory duty rate of 35%, but subject to a 30% waiver, resulting in an actual payment of 5%. It was determined that the surcharge under Order A4 was intended only for goods whose statutory duty rate was 5%, and not for goods where a higher statutory rate was administratively reduced. The holding reaffirmed the principle that taxing statutes and orders must be strictly interpreted, and administrative concessions do not alter the statutory rate for the purpose of surcharge orders. The decision relied on principles of statuto