Islamabad High Court throws out petition against benami accounts

Asks petitioner to wait for FBR to take action against alleged tax evasion

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has set aside a petition seeking direction for the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to take action against benami transactions and tax evasion.

An IHC bench, headed by Chief Justice Athar Minallah, on Wednesday declared the petition filed by a citizen, Tufail Khan, as not maintainable after a brief hearing.

The petitioner had contended that one of the brothers of the National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser is among the people who have allegedly stashed money in benami accounts.

Benami, a legal term, can refer to a transaction when a property is transferred to, or is held by, a person but it has been paid for by another person. The petitioner said he had written three letters to the FBR seeking action against benami transactions but the federal taxman had not taken any action so far.

CJ Minallah asked the petitioner’s counsel as to what his interest in this litigation was and whether he was adversely affected by the actions of the accused. “You have submitted applications to the FBR, now let them take action,” he noted.

When the petitioner’s counsel told the court that the FBR had not taken any action so far, the court noted that the body was not answerable to the petitioner. Later the judge dismissed the petition as not maintainable.