CB orders transfer of pending appeals on super tax to SC

The Constitutional Bench (CB) has ordered the transfer of pending appeals regarding the super tax in the high courts to the Supreme Court.

A five-member constitutional bench, led by Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, heard the case related to super tax, where lawyers highlighted that appeals were pending in the Lahore and Islamabad High Courts.

The lawyer for private companies, Makhdoom Ali Khan, informed the court that the Supreme Court has the constitutional authority to transfer pending cases to itself. He explained that after the constitutional amendment, the power to transfer cases has been clearly outlined.

Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar inquired whether a written request would be required for the transfer of cases, to which the lawyer replied that even an oral request from the court could be considered. He further added that in his view, the court could also transfer the cases by exercising its suo-motu powers.

The transfer of cases would be examined in light of Article 187.

Makhdoom Ali Khan emphasized that the government cannot directly impose the super tax. Any tax must be justified, and exceptional circumstances must exist for imposing a super tax. He also pointed out that in multiple rulings, the Supreme Court has declared additional taxes to be unlawful, noting that imposing such taxes violates fundamental rights.

After the hearing, the constitutional bench ordered the transfer of the pending appeals related to the super tax from the Islamabad and Lahore High Courts to the Supreme Court and adjourned the hearing until tomorrow.

Earlier, a constitutional bench of the apex court hearing appeals against a super tax imposed in the wake of a military operation was reconstituted on Monday after one of the bench members Justice Aamer Farooq, who had heard the case as a high court judge recused himself.

A five-member CB led by Justice Aminuddin Khan took up the appeals filed by various organizations and individuals against a supertax that the PML-N government had imposed in 2015 to generate funds for the accommodation of the people internally displaced due to Operation Zarb-e-Azb.

At the outset, Justice Khan noted that a bench member, Justice Aamer Farooq, had heard the case as a judge of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and therefore the CB would have to be reconstituted.

During the hearing, the CB rejected a request to defer the hearing till after Ramazan and stated that the case would be heard on a daily basis.