Navaratne v. Director-General of Customs and Others – sllr 2003 volume 3 page 310

In the case between Navaratne (Plaintiff) and the Director-General of Customs and Assistant Director of Customs (Defendants), the court examined whether the Director-General of Customs possessed the implied authority under the Customs Ordinance to revise an order of release made by a subordinate inquiring officer when such order was not considered “validly made” in terms of section 47. The core legal issue centered on the extent of the Director-General’s supervisory and revisory jurisdiction, particularly in the context of discrepancies identified between a bill of entry and the actual imported goods. It was held that the Director-General, acting under section 2 of the Customs Ordinance, retains the power of general superintendence, which encompasses revising subordinate orders for errors