Background

A shipment of freezers was stopped by the customs Department on behalf of a company. The Customs submitted samples to the laboratory and cleared the shipment after the merchant had pledged to wait for the results before disposing of the goods. The results showed an absence of energy efficiency labels. The case was referred to the First Instance customs Committee.

The Committee issued a ruling convicting the merchant of smuggling and compelled him to pay a customs fine equivalent to the value of the infringing items and a forfeiture fee.

The owner of the company filed an appeal. He did not include arguments that would undermine the soundness of the appealed ruling. The case was referred to Jeddah Customs Appeals Committee.

Decision

The committee said that the appealed ruling convicted the owner of the company because he had disposed of the shipment, but the customs statement proved the shipment was still stored in the merchant's warehouse. However, the infringement consisted of the absence of the energy efficiency labels according to results of the samples test.