๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ฑ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐๐ฑ ๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ฌ๐๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐ฒ, ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐ญ๐ซ๐ฎ๐๐ค ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ง: ๐๐๐
In a very recent judgment, Mr. Justice Sardar Ijaz of the Islamabad High Court, has held that super tax imposed in the year 2023 with retrospective effect is struck down to the extent of retrospective leviability. He has held that reasons, analysis and decision of the Court in Fauji Fertiliser Company Limited and another versus Federation of Pakistan and others in Writ Petition no. 4027 of 2022, will apply to the case in hand as well. He opted to place reliance on the reasons enumerated in his earlier judgmnet and did not provide any further reasons for the case in hand.
However, he did chose to speak on the question of territorial jurisdiction of the Islamabad High Court in the case in hand as most of the petitioners were from other provinces wherein they were issued notices for the tax. The Court held to this extent that it is not the notices or other proceedings of provincial authorities which are under challenge. Rather it is theย viresย of the retrospective leviability of the super tax and its enhancement which forms the dominant part of the case in hand. The Court held that Income Tax is a Federal Subject and the main proponent of this tax is Federation. F.B.R, the tax collection authority, is also a federal institution over which this Court can fairly exercise its jurisdiction. This implies that the dominant object of the petitions was the amendments which formed basis for retrospective leviability, which was under challenge before the Court.ย
Thus, the Court held that every High Court has concurrent jurisdiction if a federal statute is under challenge and so has this High Court in the case in hand.
The judgmnet is overall well-reasoned and well-authored as it is Justice Sardar Ijaz’s niche to say much in a few words. He has decided more than 80 writ petitions in 17 pages only.
Justice Sardar Ijaz Ishaq on Super Tax 2024 judgment
