PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has stopped authorities from recovering a disputed 3% additional tax from a steel industry petitioner, providing temporary relief while the court examines the matter.
A two-member bench headed by Justice Ijaz Anwar heard the petition challenging the collection of the additional tax and directed the relevant departments to await further proceedings.
The court also ordered the petitioner to submit a post-dated cheque as part of the interim arrangement and issued notices to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and other respondents.
During the hearing, the petitioner’s lawyer told the court that the additional 3% tax had been imposed on raw materials imported for consumption.
According to the counsel, the tax was imposed following alleged inactivity of the FBR’s IRIS tax system.
The lawyer argued that the petitioner should not be penalized for a technical or administrative issue involving the tax system.
The counsel further maintained that the company was already fulfilling its tax obligations under the applicable law, but was still being subjected to recovery of the additional tax.
After hearing the arguments, the Peshawar High Court restrained the relevant authorities from recovering the disputed tax amount until further orders.
The petitioner has been directed to provide a post-dated cheque as part of the interim arrangement.
The order provides temporary relief to the petitioner while the court considers the legal questions surrounding the disputed tax and the alleged IRIS system issue.
The PHC has issued notices to the FBR and other respondents in the case. The respondents have been directed to submit their replies within two weeks.
The case will proceed after the responses are received, with the court expected to further examine whether the disputed 3% additional tax can legally be recovered under the circumstances presented by the petitioner.
