Customs disputes can stop a business in its tracks. A valuation dispute that disallows your declared customs value inflates your duty liability, compresses your margins, and triggers back-demands that can run to years of imports. A seizure order detains goods you have already paid for and sold. A show-cause notice for alleged smuggling, even when the allegation is wrong, carries the threat of confiscation, penalties, and criminal referral. The Customs Act gives officers wide powers; it also contains the limits of those powers, and a good customs lawyer knows both.
Junaid Jabbar Khan appears regularly before the Customs Appellate Tribunal and the Lahore High Court in classification, valuation, and confiscation matters. He understands the operational reality of customs practice — how goods declarations are scrutinized, how post-clearance audits work, how Customs Intelligence approaches smuggling investigations — and he uses that understanding to build defences that work at the tribunal level and hold up at the High Court when the matter is taken further.
What We Handle
- Classification disputes — challenging the PCT heading applied to your goods
- Valuation disputes under the Customs Act and WTO Valuation Agreement
- Goods declarations, post-clearance audits, and scrutiny proceedings
- Anti-dumping and countervailing duty matters
- Detention and seizure of goods — applications for release, surety, and provisional release
- Bonded warehousing and temporary importation disputes
- Representation before Customs Collectorates, the Customs Appellate Tribunal, and High Courts
- Smuggling and customs fraud defence
- Trade facilitation advisory and compliance programs
Customs and Tax Together
Customs disputes and tax disputes frequently overlap. Customs value determines the customs duty base; it also informs the income tax and sales tax treatment of the same transaction. Where a customs matter has parallel tax implications — or where an FBR audit touches on import transactions — the chambers handles both through its tax law practice without requiring a separate engagement. Similarly, when a customs matter produces criminal allegations, the chambers' criminal law capability means the defence is coordinated rather than fragmented.
For businesses with broader compliance and regulatory needs, our corporate and commercial practice works alongside the customs team on trade compliance programs and regulatory risk management.
To discuss a customs matter, book a consultation or review our full list of practice areas.