SC takes up taxation case review on Oct 21

The apex court has formed a three-member bench to hear a review petition filed against an earlier order of the court on double taxation treaty.

The bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJ) Qazi Faez Isa will also comprise Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan.

During a hearing of the petition on Friday, Saad Hashmi, counsel for the petitioner said Justice Shah had written a dissenting opinion in the double taxation case while former CJ Umar Ata Bandial had agreed with the opinion of the incumbent CJ, Qazi Faez Isa.

"Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, who wrote the dissenting note, should also be included in the review bench," he requested the court. CJ Isa accepted the request and noted that Justice Shah will sit on the bench. "Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan will be the third judge for the review," he added.

The court will take up the review petition on October 21. On September 8, 2023, a three-member bench by a majority vote turned down a Sindh High Court's (SHC) judgment regarding the applicability of Article 7 or Article 12 of the Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation between Pakistan and The Netherlands with reference to sections 136(1) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 1979, and section 133(1) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.

The majority order authored by Justice Isa noted that the impugned judgments of the SHC in all 14 appeals were not sustainable nor were the reasons given by the high court to set aside the assessment orders, the appellate orders and the tribunal's judgments.