4292/2021 Const. P. M/s Outdoorsman (Petitioner) V/S Fed. of Pakistan and Others (Respondent)
Sindh High Court
Bench: Hon'ble Chief Justice Mr. Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui(Author), Hon'ble Mr. Justice Mahmood A. Khan
Order Date: 06-DEC-21
We do not find any necessity of an independent license from the federal government in presence of Import Policy Order, 2016 w.e.f. 14.6.2018 followed by Import Policy Order, 2020. The Import Policy Order, 2016 in terms of the subject in hand was amended by virtue of SRO No.772(1)/2018 on 14.6.2018 which provides that the individual license holders or arms dealership license holders [as issued by Home Department, Province of Sindh] are allowed to import arms and ammunition. It was clarified by Federal Government, Ministry of Commerce & Textile vide letter dated 06.09.2019 that the import of arms and ammunition does not require any import authorization from the Commerce Division Islamabad after issuance of SRO No.772(I)/2018 dated 14-06-2018. For convenience and ready reference, text of [i]. Letter dated 06.09.2019, [ii]. Section 6(1) and [iii]. Entry No.62 Part I of Appendix B of IPO, 2020 ---Section 4 of ibid Act 2013 is related to the license for the manufacture/sale of arms and ammunition which is not the case here. Section 5 deals with the import, export and transportation which for all intent and purposes means import and export within the province of Sindh and we, while read it down, do not find it to be ultra vires to the Constitution. It primarily concerns with the person who is brining into and taking out of Sindh or any of its districts, arms, ammunition or military stores of a firearm or convert an imitation firearm into a firearm unless a license has been issued in accordance with the provisions and rules thereunder. Similarly, in section 9&10 the words import and export are in relation to brining into and taking out of the province of Sindh and any of its districts and it does not mean import of any arms and ammunition from outside the country which is an independent subject of the federal government hence, we read down these provisions to be within frame of Sindh Arms Act, 2013 and are not ultra vires the Constitution.Full judgment text for this case is not yet available on Pakistan Law Reports. Check the official Sindh High Court case law portal for the complete order.
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