ISLAMABAD: A division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday termed the decision of the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue (ATIR) against Telenor Pakistan a ‘non-speaking order’.
The division bench, comprising Justice Noor-ul-Haq N Qureshi and Justice Aamer Farooq, was hearing a petition, challenging the decision of the ATIR against the telecom company.
Telenor Pakistan had filed the petition through its counsel Sardar Ahmed Jamal Sukhera. The counsel told the court that the ATIR did not mention any section of the law to support its decision. Telenor counsel also questioned the main decision given by the tribunal; however, he asked the court to address this issue separately. In the main decision, the tribunal had put a penalty on Telenor.
The court observed: “any decision which was not mentioning the grounds and supporting law sections along shall be deemed ‘non-speaking order’.” The court also stated that such orders reflected violation of Income Tax Ordinance section 182 as well.
