FBR to SC: No taxpayer challenged LHC tax ruling

ISLAMABAD:

A five-member constitutional bench (CB) headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan took up on Monday a case pertaining to the imposition of super tax.

Federal Board of Revenue's (FBR) counsel Asma Hamid began with opening arguments. She apprised the court that no taxpayer had challenged the Lahore High Court's (LHC) verdict, upholding the legality of the super tax imposed under Section 4C of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, while reducing its rate for several industries.

She added that the Islamabad High Court (IHC) had already issued rulings on both sections of the matter, noting that 89 petitioners had filed applications in the IHC in 2022.

A three-judge bench of the LHC led by Justice Jawwad Hassan had dismissed petitions challenging the constitutionality of the levy and ruled that the government has the authority to impose such a tax under the Finance Act 2022. However, the court reduced the super tax rate from 10% to 4% for 16 sectors, including banking, offering partial relief to petitioners.

During the hearing, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar questioned what the common factor was in all judicial decisions and sought a brief summary of all rulings be submitted before the court.

The bench adjourned the hearing until 9:30am today (Tuesday).

Super tax

The super tax is an additional levy on high-earning individuals, companies, and industries, largely aimed at big corporations. In the 2022–23 federal budget, the government imposed up to 10% super tax on major sectors including cement, steel, sugar, oil and gas, fertiliser, banks, textiles and others, citing the need to raise extra revenue for economic stabilisation.