PCSIR lab opened till July 25
The petitioner said Excise Department had sealed the laboratory for failing to pay property tax
Lahore High Court. PHOTO: FILE
LAHORE:
A Lahore High Court bench on Wednesday ordered temporary de-sealing of the PCSIR Laboratories and sought a reply from the excise and taxation secretary on a petition challenging closure of the laboratories.
PCSIR Director General Sakhawat Ali stated in the petition that the Excise and Taxation Department had sent the labs a notice for recovery of Rs20 million property tax for 1996 to 2016. He said the department could not recover tax from federal departments like the PCSIR.
The petitioner said Excise Department had sealed the laboratory for failing to pay property tax. He said this was affecting research work.
He asked the court to set aside the tax recovery notice and order reopening of the labs. Assistant Advocate General Anwaar Hussain told the court that conflicting judgments had been delivered by various high court benches on the matter.
He said in judgments delivered in cases of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), it had been ruled that these federal departments must pay taxes to provincial departments.
Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah observed that the PCSIR was not a federal department and was likely liable to pay the property tax.
However, the chief justice allowed the opening of the laboratories till a final decision was made in this regard.
The judge directed the Excise Department to open the laboratories till July 25 and asked the attorney general to assist the court on the next hearing.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 30th, 2016.
A Lahore High Court bench on Wednesday ordered temporary de-sealing of the PCSIR Laboratories and sought a reply from the excise and taxation secretary on a petition challenging closure of the laboratories.
PCSIR Director General Sakhawat Ali stated in the petition that the Excise and Taxation Department had sent the labs a notice for recovery of Rs20 million property tax for 1996 to 2016. He said the department could not recover tax from federal departments like the PCSIR.
The petitioner said Excise Department had sealed the laboratory for failing to pay property tax. He said this was affecting research work.
He asked the court to set aside the tax recovery notice and order reopening of the labs. Assistant Advocate General Anwaar Hussain told the court that conflicting judgments had been delivered by various high court benches on the matter.
He said in judgments delivered in cases of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), it had been ruled that these federal departments must pay taxes to provincial departments.
Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah observed that the PCSIR was not a federal department and was likely liable to pay the property tax.
However, the chief justice allowed the opening of the laboratories till a final decision was made in this regard.
The judge directed the Excise Department to open the laboratories till July 25 and asked the attorney general to assist the court on the next hearing.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 30th, 2016.