LAHORE: The Lahore Tax Bar Association’s Public Interest Litigation Committee (LTBA-PILC) has urged Finance Minister Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb to order an inquiry into what it terms serious inefficiency and institutional failure within the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), following the outright dismissal of multiple time-barred tax appeals filed by the tax authority. The dismissals, the committee warned, have resulted in an irrecoverable loss of lawful tax revenue to the national exchequer.
In a letter addressed to the finance minister, LTBA-PILC called for immediate action against what it described as misuse of public funds and abuse of authority by tax officials.
According to the representation submitted to both the finance minister and the FBR, recent judicial orders reveal not an isolated procedural lapse but a recurring pattern of disregard for statutory obligations. The committee maintained that such conduct raises serious concerns about the deliberate facilitation of revenue loss and the protection of select beneficiaries.
The High Court, in its findings, noted that FBR officers had filed appeals well beyond the prescribed statutory limitation period, despite settled law and binding precedents on the issue. LTBA-PILC argued that this conduct amounts to criminal negligence, maladministration and possible abuse of authority, causing direct prejudice to public interest and taxpayer funds.
The committee further observed that the FBR appeared largely indifferent to the recovery of lawful taxes, while remaining willing to squander billions of rupees through legally incompetent and time-barred litigation. It also questioned who had authorised such appeals, who vetted them, and why no internal accountability mechanism was invoked.
LTBA-PILC has demanded that the FBR disclose, with documentary evidence, the identities of officers responsible for filing the time-barred appeals, along with details of any disciplinary, departmental or legal action initiated against them.
Tax lawyer Waheed Shahzad Butt described the situation as an “institutional collapse of revenue protection,” stating that the deliberate filing of time-barred cases reflects not mere incompetence but a calculated act that undermines revenue recovery and ultimately burdens compliant taxpayers.
He added that the public interest initiative aims to uphold the rule of law, enforce institutional accountability and safeguard the national exchequer.
