KOCHI: A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Thursday ordered that status quo be maintained till July 6 with regard to reopening of the duty-free shop at Trivandrum International Airport. Meanwhile, Plus Max Duty Free Pvt Ltd submitted that it won’t open the shop till next Friday. The Bench issued the interim order on an appeal filed by the Central government seeking to set aside a single judge’s order allowing the reopening of the shop and warehouse at the airport.
Earlier, the Customs Department had issued the order to suspend the shop’s licence after being satisfied that there was a prima facie violation of law and licence conditions.The Centre submitted that there were serious matters to be considered before deciding to reopen the duty-free shop. The single judge ought to have taken into account the larger issue of Customs duty evasion and threat to national security posed by the company’s illegal activities.