Islamabad:
During the consultation of a tax case, the leader of the Supreme Court observed the constitutional bench (CB) that CB wanted to end the case quickly considering the crucial hearings on petitions that challenged the 26th constitutional change.
“The bench wants to end the case as soon as possible as hearings on the 26th constitutional change must begin on October 7,” Justice Aminuddin Khan noted on Tuesday. Justice Khan led a petition with a crew of five members filed against the introduction of a super tax.
In October last year, the reigning coalition bullyed the 26th constitutional amendment through parliament in the midst of opposition protests.
The change introduced sweeping changes in the judiciary, including the establishment of CBS in superior courts, an increase in the number of SC judges and changes in the procedure for the appointment of Pakistan’s Chief Justice.
Several petitions were later filed in SC, which challenged the amendment, where the petitions claimed it aimed to undermine legal independence. Interestingly, the petitions were not listed for consultation for almost a year and will now be taken up by a CB formed during the same change.
During Tuesday’s hearing of the tax case, lawyer for companies, Shehzad Ata Elahi, concluded her arguments. He claimed that taxes should only be those applied to the regular course.
Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar asked about the structure of the financial bill and noticed that it applies to the coming fiscal year and not retrospectively.
Elahi claimed that companies were willing to pay all taxes but sought security. “We should not go to bed at night and wake up with a new treasure that was introduced the next morning. The purpose of adopting a law is to solve an existing problem,” he argued.
Justice Mazhar observed that this question arises every year, with new elements that surfaces every time.
The lawyer also claimed that although a tax of 30% had been introduced for businesses, no such tax on non-companies had been used, referring to a relevant SINDH Court of Justice.
After Elahi’s post, Justice Aminuddin Khan asked who would claim next. At that time, Salman Akram Raja approached Rostrum and said he would take no more than an hour.
Justice Khan noted that the bench had been told that Raja would adopt Makhdoom Ali Khan’s arguments. Raja said there was a specific point he wanted to argue. Khan suggested that he present his arguments tomorrow before the break, after which Farogh Naseem could begin.
However, Raja informed the bench that he would not be available the next day and requested an hour the following day to conclude his arguments. The hearing resumes today (Wednesday).
