Functional again: PHC restores Pesco accounts frozen by income tax dept

Counsel for Pesco says graft body owed authority billions of rupees

PESHAWAR: A division bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) restored the accounts of Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco) that had been frozen by the income tax department. It also restrained the department from freezing them again.

It also directed the relevant authorities to hear pending appeals of Pesco.

The bench, comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Ikramullah, heard a writ petition filed by Pesco through its counsel Barrister Mudassir Ameer. The lawyer said the income tax department issued three notices to Pesco for non-payment of sales taxes. He told the bench the department demanded payment of Rs5 billion, Rs170 million and Rs 117 million respectively in the issued notices.



“Following non-payment of the amount, the income tax department froze Pesco’s account due to which payment of salaries and pensions of 17,000 employees were halted,” Ameer said. “The anti-graft body could not even purchase electricity.”

He argued the non-payment of salaries might force employees to protest and trigger power outages across the country.

The barrister said the income tax department had defaulted on power bills worth Rs118 billion but was demanding payment of sales taxes instead of paying the accrued amount to the authority.

After hearing the arguments, the bench unfroze the accounts and assets of Pesco and adjourned the case.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 27^th, 2016.