Islamabad:
The Supreme Court resumed on Monday hearings in the Super Tax case, where members of the larger constitutional bench made key observations regarding the imposition and the time of the tax.
A five-member bench, led by Justice Aminuddin Khan, heard the case.
During the case, justice noted Jamal Khan Mandokhail that taxes other than VAT can also be imposed under the National Finance Commission (NFC).
Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar noted that “a tax cannot be imposed after the expiry of the prescribed time”. By acting on behalf of several petitions, Barristgrister Farogh Naseem claimed that Sindh High Court had already declared on July 1, 2023, Super Tax and Void, determined that a tax rate of 4% is used instead of 10%.
He claimed that the federal government could not legally impose a tax beyond the constitutionally defined period.
Another adviser, Hafiz Ehsan Khokhar, said attorneys presented their arguments with “patience and dignity” and expected a fair hearing.
The case, which relates to the legality and constitutional limits of the government’s power to impose a super tax, continues today (Tuesday) when the bench resumes considerations.
On April 4, 2024, a division bench by Islamabad High Court, which consisted of then Chief Justice Aamer Farooq and Justice Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri, while hearing Intra Court of Justice, one of the respondents ordered to continue to pay the tax liability under section 4C as the Financial Act of 2023.
The “super tax”, first introduced by the PML-N government in 2015, is targeted at high-income individuals, associations of people and companies earning more than RS500 million annually.
It imposes a collection of 4 percent on banks’ income and 3 percent in other sectors with revenue aimed at financing the rehabilitation of temporarily displaced.
