50 percent supertax levied on large enterprises generating more than Rs. 150 million can now be recovered by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) within a week, thanks to a ruling by the Supreme Court on Monday.
The appeals of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) against the interim ruling issued by the Lahore High Court were considered by a two-member bench of the Supreme Court, which was made up of Chief Justice Umer Ata Bandial and Justice Athar Minanallah (LHC).
Salman Akram Raja, counsel for the FBR, appeared in court on notice and stated that the Lahore High Court (LHC) has issued an interim injunction preventing the FBR from making such recovery while the ultimate judgement in this matter has not yet been made.
Supertax imposition
The supertax imposed by the government on corporations, however, was deemed unconstitutional by the respondents’ legal representative.
The Supreme Court permitted the Federal Board of Revenue to recover 50% of the supertax from certain industries within a week after suspending the interim order of the High Court of Lahore.
On businesses making more than Rs. 150 million in revenue last year, the government slapped a supertax. Among them were businesses in the cement, steel, sugar, oil and gas, fertilizer, textile, auto, and tobacco industries.
It was discovered that the government had anticipated receiving R.s 80 billion in revenue from the supertax, but the respondents’ enterprises had complained to the Lahore High Court over its imposition.
The Lahore High Court granted an interim order in September of last year preventing the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) from obtaining supertax from these businesses.
Later, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) appealed the LHC interim order to the supreme court.
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