BHC suspends FBR tax collection notice

The Balochistan High Court (BHC) has suspended the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) notification pertaining to transferring tax collection of key industrialists and businessmen of Balochistan to Karachi.

A division bench of the BHC headed by Chief Justice BHC, Justice Jamal Mandokhail and comprising of Justice Abdul Hameed Baloch heard the petition filed by businessmen in Quetta.

The bench suspended the notification until the next hearing of the case.

It is pertinent to mention that a FBR notification on August 5 stated that tax payments of 38 key industrialists and businessmen of Balochistan will be shifted to Karachi.

Earlier, they were depositing their taxes to the Quetta chapter of FBR.

Hajvairy Steel Industries challenged the notification through its counsel Advocate Muhammad Amir Rana in the BHC.

Advocate Rana contended before the court that the tax collection of major taxpayers of Balochistan has been transferred to Karachi without the taking the provincial government into confidence. “By doing so, the jurisdiction of the court has also been violated.”

The Counsel maintained before the court that businessmen from Karachi and other parts of the country have established their industries in Hub.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 8^th, 2020.