KARACHI: The Sindh High Court ( SHC ) has issued notices to chairman Sindh Revenue Board, secretary Ministry of Finance, Sindh and additional advocate general Sindh on a petition filed by Pakistan Standards & Quality Control Authority ( PSQCA ) against show cause notice, asking it for compulsory registration with the Sindh Revenue Board.
The SHC division bench, comprising Justice Munib Akhter and Justice Abdul Malik Gaddi, heard the petition and sought comments from the respondents on June 9, 2016.
Earlier, the petitioner’s counsel stated that petitioner is the Pakistan Standards & Quality Control Authority ( PSQCA ), a statutory authorizing established by the federal government under section 3 of the Pakistan Standards & Quality Control Authority Act, 1996.
On August 11, 2014, Sindh Revenue Board issued a notice, informing the petitioner that because it has many different laboratories for physical, chemical and biological testing within Sindh, falling under tariff heading 9819.9400 of the second schedule to the 2011 Sindh Act, it was to immediately register itself with the Sindh Revenue Board for payment of tax under Sindh Act 2011.
According to the petitioner Sindh Revenue Board issued a show cause notice to the petitioner for compulsory registration and threatened to take penal action against it if it failed to register within prescribed time.
The counsel argued that, respondents have no power to impose any tax on the petitioner under 2011 Sindh Act. The petitioner pleaded that SHC to set aside impugned show cause notice and restrain the respondents from taking any coercive action against it.
