KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has barred the Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) and the Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) from demanding a tax from M/s ME Industries under the Gas Infrastructure Development Cess Act 2015.
The court gave this interim order on a lawsuit filed by M/s ME Industries, challenging the imposition of cess under Gas Infrastructure Development Cess (GIDC) Act 2015.
The bench issued notice to the defendants – secretary law, secretary petroleum and natural resources ministry, secretary finance, and managing director Sui Southern Gas Company to respond to the lawsuit.
The applicant’s counsel submitted that the federal government had enacted GIDC Act 2015 whereby it imposed a tax on the industrial consumers. He said that imposition of cess was unconstitutional and ultra vires to the provisions of the Constitution and the government had no authority to claim cess.
He told the judges that numerous suits are pending in the court in which the same Act has been challenged by the various industrialists and the court had given interim orders on the suits. He requested that same interim orders be passed in this suit.
He pleaded with the court to declare demand and collection of cess from the plaintiff under the gas infrastructure development cess was unlawful and unconstitutional.
