CB examines IDPs rehab in super tax case

A member of the Supreme Court's Constitutional Bench (CB) has questioned the government's plan for reconstructing areas affected by Operation Zarb-e-Azb, initiated in 2014 to eliminate terrorist hotbeds in what is now North Waziristan district.

A five-member CB led by Justice Aminuddin Khan on Tuesday resumed hearing a slew of petitions filed against imposition of a super tax in 2015 for the rehabilitation of the people internally displaced by the military operation.

During the hearing, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail asked about the government's plan for the rehabilitation of areas affected by the operation.

"Was any PC-1 [Project Concept-1] prepared for the resettlement of the affected areas? Was any estimate made for the rehabilitation of the affected regions?' He also asked if a tax on services can be imposed through a money bill.

One of the lawyers of the companies which challenged the tax, Makhdoom Ali Khan, argued that the government initially enforced the super tax as a one-time measure through the 2015 Money Bill.

"However, its implementation continued from 2015 to 2022. The government's initial estimate was to collect Rs80 billion. It is unclear how much revenue was actually generated under the Super Levy Tax," he added.

He stated that the government had already collected income tax on earnings, and to avoid double taxation, it was named a "super tax." He argued that social welfare is now a provincial subject and that this was not a super tax but simply another tax.

Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar inquired whether the Super Levy Tax was imposed for a single year. The companies' lawyer responded that it was initially implemented for one year.

Justice Mandokhail asked if there was any record of the total amount collected under the super tax. Justice Mazhar remarked that the super tax was imposed once for a specific purpose and questioned whether it would continue indefinitely.

Makhdoom Ali Khan argued that the rehabilitation of areas affected by the military operation was a local and provincial matter. The case hearing will resume today at 9:30am.