ISLAMABAD, Oct 29 (APP):The Supreme Court has ruled that shelled almonds and cashews do not fall within the specific categories of smuggled goods listed under the Customs Act, observing that a violation of import restrictions alone does not automatically render goods legally smuggled.
The court dismissed appeals filed by customs authorities against Balochistan High Court judgments, holding that the phrase “all kinds of food grains and food items” used in the relevant notification could not be interpreted so broadly as to include distinct categories of goods such as almonds and cashews.
According to the detailed judgment authored by Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, a three-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the customs authorities’ appeals on October 8, 2026.
According to the case record, customs officials intercepted vehicles transporting foreign-origin almonds and cashews in Nokkundi on October 20, 2024, following a tip-off. The goods declarations presented by the drivers did not match the customs record, as the relevant declarations pertained to Iranian raisins and contained different vehicle details.
The customs authorities ordered the seizure of the goods and the vehicles used for their transportation. However, the Customs Appellate Tribunal allowed the release of the goods subject to payment of applicable duties and taxes and a penalty equivalent to 20 per cent of their customs value. It also set aside the seizure of the vehicles.
The Balochistan High Court subsequently dismissed the customs authorities’ challenges to the tribunal’s decisions.
The Supreme Court observed that the notification referred to various types of food grains, including wheat, rice, maize, barley and pulses. Almonds and cashews, however, were ordinarily classified as nuts and could not be placed in the same category of food grains.
The court held that if the authorities intended to include almonds and cashews within the notification governing smuggled goods, they should have expressly mentioned them. The mere fact that these products were edible did not justify bringing them within the notification’s broad wording.
The judgment further clarified that restrictions and conditions imposed on the import of these products under the Import Policy Order 2022 did not automatically make them smuggled goods under the Customs Act. Their legal status had to be determined in accordance with the applicable law and the specific terms of the relevant notification.
The court also held that, since shelled almonds and cashews did not fall within any of the specified categories under the notification, the restriction concerning vehicles used to transport smuggled goods could not be invoked to justify their seizure.
Finding no grounds to interfere with the Balochistan High Court judgments, the Supreme Court declined to grant leave to appeal and dismissed the customs authorities’ petitions.
Source: APP (Associated Press of Pakistan)
