KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the tax authorities not to take any coercive action against the M/s Image System Marketing (Private) Limited on an income tax notice of Rs 9.415 million.
While hearing the constitutional petition, a two-member bench, comprising Justice Nadeem Akhtar and Justice Muhammad Faisal Kamal also issued notices to the Ministry of Law secretary, the FBR chairman, Large Taxpayers Unit-II (LTU-II) commissioner, IR-Audit additional commissioner and deputy attorney general directing them to file their respective comments on July 1, 2016.
During the hearing, counsel for the M / S Image System Marketing Pvt Ltd submitted that LTU-II IR-Audit additional commissioner passed the order under Section 122 (5) (A) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, whereby an amount of Rs 9,415,679 has been demanded from the petitioner on account of income tax. The said order has been challenged by the petitioner before the IR Appeals commissioner and stay application for suspending the said order has also been filed in the same appeal which are pending and during the pendency thereof, the respondents have threatened to take coercive action against the petitioner for recovery of the impugned demand.
The counsel argued that respondents have no authority to seek recovery of the impugned demand or to take any coercive action against the petitioner as the petitioner have availed its remedy in accordance with law by filing an appeal but in case, interim orders are not passed on the listed applications, the appeal filed by the petitioner will become infructuous.
Petitioner pleaded the SHC may set aside impugned demand notice and restrain the respondents from taking any coercive action against the petitioner.
