Foreign company withdraws case against Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has won a case in international court for scrapping an agreement with Agility, a Kuwait-based company, which claimed $650 million penalty from Pakistan.
The FBR had scrapped agreement with M/S Agility on Customs clearance project, Pakistan Automated Customs Clearance (PaCCS), after which the company had approached the international court claiming $650 million damages from FBR and govt of Pakistan.
According to a statement issued by Finance Ministry on Friday night stating that the Finance Minister, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, has lauded the efforts of FBR and its legal team for putting up strong and successful defence in the case.
FBR’s vigorous pursuance of the litigation has led to the withdrawal of the case by the Claimants (Agility) days before the London Tribunal of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) was about to hold the final hearing in the matter.
It may be recalled that M/s Agility Pvt Ltd was engaged in 2005 by FBR for developing software for automated clearance of import and exports cargo at Karachi port. Subsequently, FBR/Government of Pakistan terminated contract with M/S Agility in September 2010. The company thereafter filed a claim worth USD 650 million against the Government of Pakistan before the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
Initially the case was heard on the point of jurisdiction at ICSID’s Singapore seat during 2012-13. As the then government did not properly pursue the matter, Pakistan lost the case on the point of jurisdiction. However, the present government took up the case afresh at the London seat of ICSID in August 2013 and vigorous defence was then put up throughout the proceedings.
The case was fixed for final hearing at London Tribunal in 3rd week of November 2015 but the company, seeing the strong defence put up by the FBR and its legal team, withdrew the claim unconditionally.Minister Dar has appreciated the FBR team on this feat. NAB is also conducting an inquiry into this scam.