Background

A shipment of red tea was stopped by the Customs Department on behalf of a company. The Customs submitted samples to the laboratory after the merchant pledged to wait for the test results before disposing of the goods. The results showed that the merchant had not completed the required procedures and did not respond to the customs request. The case was then referred to the First Instance customs Committee in Jeddah.

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

The merchant filed an appeal but 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 found that a number of containers did not comply with their value or the amount of the customs fees. Therefore, the merchant had violated the prohibitions and limitations provisions under Articles 142, 143(11) of the Common Customs Code.