LAHORE: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and Customs are grappling with approximately Rs27 billion worth of tax cases pending for decades in various courts.
According to documents, the Supreme Court has over 3271 tax cases worth over Rs95 billion, the Islamabad High Court has 1100 tax cases worth 180 billion rupees, the Sindh High Court has 2600 tax cases worth over Rs200 billion and the Lahore High Court has approximately 5700 cases worth nearly Rs400 billion pending for resolution.
Similarly, the Peshawar High Court has 400 tax cases worth 10 billion rupees, the Balochistan High Court has 110 tax cases worth Rs3 billion and the Appellate Tribunals have 62298 tax cases worth up to Rs15 billion pending for resolution.
Documents reveal that the Customs cases in the Supreme Court amount to over 1432 cases worth over Rs12 billion , the Islamabad High Court has 203 cases worth Rs2 billion , the Sindh High Court has approximately 550 cases worth over Rs1.5 billion and the Lahore High Court has nearly 548 cases worth around Rs6 billion awaiting logical conclusions.
Similarly, the Peshawar High Court has 676 cases worth 2 billion rupees, the Balochistan High Court has 58 cases worth 3 billion rupees and the Appellate Tribunals for Customs have 4911 cases worth up to 73 billion rupees pending for resolution.
To expedite the resolution of tax cases pending in various courts, Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif has met with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Additionally, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Attorney General Mansoor Awan and FBR Chairman Amjad Zubair Toor are deliberating on various proposals to resolve tax cases quickly.
According to sources, tax cases in the Supreme Court, Islamabad High Court, Sindh High Court, Lahore High Court, Peshawar High Court, Balochistan High Court and Appellate Tribunals have been pending for nearly two decades with multiple cases lost by the FBR in the High Courts prompting appeals to the Supreme Courts.
