Justice Mandokhail questions legality of super tax without legislation
Pakistan
Raza Rabbani says super tax and income tax are two different things
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – Justice Jamal Mandokhail of the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench questioned the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) lawyer during the super tax case, asking, “Can you impose a super tax without legislation?”
A five-member constitutional bench, headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan, conducted the hearing. Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail inquired whether the tax was imposed under Article 173 or not.
FBR's lawyer, Raza Rabbani, responded that the entire taxation process is clearly outlined in Article 173. The Standing Committee on Finance first finalises the budget, then sends it to the Upper House for approval.
Rabbani added that "4B" is not meant for local purposes; it pertains to local bodies. He explained that the super tax would be used for the repair of damaged houses, with no specific area mentioned. He further said that super tax and income tax are two different things — the super tax is imposed for a specific purpose.
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Justice Jamal Mandokhail remarked, “How is the amount collected through the super tax distributed? Can you impose it without legislation?”
Raza Rabbani replied that legislation had been made regarding the super tax, and all the revenue from it goes into the federal consolidated budget.
Justice Mandokhail noted that the use of the federal consolidated budget is explained under Article 175.
In response, the FBR lawyer said that the preamble of the 2016 law regarding super tax states that the funds will first be deposited into the federal consolidated budget.
The court then adjourned the hearing of the super tax case until tomorrow, with Raza Rabbani scheduled to continue his arguments.
