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ISLAMABAD – The Supreme Court of Pakistan Friday provided the last opportunity to Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to furnish proof of notices showing additional taxes levied on PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif and late Kulsoom Nawaz, wife of the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.
A two-member bench of the apex court comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah conducted hearing of an appeal of Commissioner Inland Revenue, Lahore against the Lahore High Court (LHC) judgment.
On the writ petition of Kulsoom Nawaz and Shehbaz Sharif, the LHC had passed judgment against FBR as the department failed to submit the proof of the notices for additional tax issued to the PML-N leaders. The department, therefore, approached the apex court against the LHC verdict.
During the hearing, the bench inquired from the FBR counsel Mian Yusuf Umar whether the respondents received the tax notices. He informed that it was his client’s stated position that the notices had been issued.
At this point, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah remarked that the question was whether both Shehbaz and Kalsoom had received the notices. “By merely saying that the notices had been issued, the bureau could not prove that they were received,” the judge said. Justice Bandial said that the matter dated back to 1994-95, while the additional tax was levied in 2002. He further said that the FBR had not even given the date on which the tax notices were issued.
The court providing last opportunity to the FBR asked the counsel to check the documents to ascertain when the notices were issued.
Justice Bandial stated that if it was proved that the notices had been received then the additional taxes would be effective; otherwise, the apex court would throw out the case filed by the FBR against the LHC decision. Earlier, the counsel argued that under Section 31 of Wealth Tax Act if a taxpayer does not pay the tax within the prescribed period then he has to pay the additional tax. He contended that Kulsoom Nawaz and Shehbaz Sharif did not pay tax during the period 1994-95 and 1996-97.
He said that later on when they contested election they paid tax of the stated periods, but did not pay the additional tax.