MULTAN: An Income Tax Tribunal has overturned the decisions of an Officer Inland Revenue (OIR) for failing to adhere to the directives of the Commissioner-IR Appeals, sources report.
The OIR’s issuance of another show cause notice and the expansion of the original proceedings were deemed legally untenable and contrary to the Income Tax Ordinance provisions, according to sources.
During monitoring of withholding tax, the OIR found a steel products manufacturer in default, resulting in a demand worth millions of rupees. Despite the Commissioner-IR’s declaration of the order as lacking jurisdiction, the Commissioner Appeals upheld the Deputy Commissioner-IR’s decision instead of following the directive.
The steel manufacturer contended that the Commissioner Appeals overlooked the Deputy Commissioner-IR’s jurisdictional overstep in upholding the original order.
Furthermore, the manufacturer argued that the transactions mentioned were not subject to withholding tax, and objected to the application of a higher withholding tax rate not in line with income tax laws. Additionally, the controversial order was issued on a non-working day, further complicating the matter.
The tribunal has nullified the orders from the lower authorities and instructed a fresh examination of the case in accordance with the law.
Furthermore, it directed the OIR to present all supporting evidence for their claim, and mandated the department to finalize proceedings after affording the taxpayer a full opportunity to be heard.
