KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) issued notices to the customs department and deputy attorney general and directed them to file their para-wise comments on a constitutional petition filed by M/s Khamsia Enterprises seeking restoration of its sales tax registration number suspended by Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
On December 11, 2018, a two-member bench, headed by Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, heard the matter.
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During the hearing, counsel for the petitioner stated in his constitutional petition that petitioner’s sales tax registration was suspended under Section 21(2) of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 read with rule 12 of Sales Tax Rules 2006 without any prior notice or opportunity of being heard on the allegation that the petitioner has declared carried forward amounting to Rs88,209 in the month of October 2018.
He further submitted that petitioner filed reply to the suspension order dated 04/12/2018 that “suspension was done without any notice which or prior intimation which is against the principle of natural justice and right to defend in total violation of article 10/A of the Islamic Republic Pakistan, allegation contained in the notice are based on assumption and surmises without any substantial legal justification, petitioner is registered as an importer and paying sales tax along with advance value addition sales tax at customs stage, hence carrying stock does not have any negative taxation impact, petitioner has two different warehouse other than registered premises and respondent without seeking confirmation/ verification of stock position has drawn extreme negative inference”.
He argued that entire exercise of the suspension of sales tax registration reflects high handedness of the respondent in order to meet the budgetary targets of the respondent department without providing due course of law to the petitioner.
Citing Secretary Finance, chairman Federal Board of Revenue and the commissioner IR, Zone-IV, Regional Tax Office-II as respondents, petitioner pleaded the court to declare that act of the respondents as illegal, mala fide and arbitrary.
Importer also pleaded the court to restore its sales tax registration number and restrain them from taking any coercive action against the petitioner till final order in this case.
