Challenging tax evasion notices: Supreme Court admits Sharif family's petition for hearing

A two-member bench of Supreme Court here Friday admitted a petition of Sharif family for regular hearing, challenging notices of tax department of tax evasion. The petition was filed by Mian Nawaz Sharif, his wife Kalsoom Nawaz, Mian Shahbaz Sharif, his wife Nusrat Shahbaz, Hamza Shahbaz, Mian Tariq Shafi and Mian Javaid Shafi.
The income tax department had accused Nawaz Sharif of evading tax on purchase of a helicopter, which he used for his election campaign in mid-1990s. Kalsoom Nawaz was asked to pay Rs 2.9 million as additional wealth tax and Rs 1.9 million as additional income tax for her income during the years 1990 to 2000. While Shahbaz Sharif was directed to pay Rs 2.3 million as additional wealth tax and Rs 1.6 million as additional income tax for the same years.
Advocate Malik Tariq Aziz, counsel for Sharif family submitted that the tax department never disclosed as to what amount of tax was due and it was a vague notice, which did not have legal sanctity. He said the order of income tax commissioner was repugnant and inconsistent with section 3 and 4 of Wealth Tax Act 1963.
Aziz said Kalsoom Nawaz and Shahbaz had paid the income tax during the stipulated time and no objection was raised against it at that time. He said the notices were issued to petitioners after a year and the objection about the tax assessment was raised about 1213 days instead of the normal 60 days of the required period. The counsel pleaded that the re-opening of the case was illegal as the tax department already accepted tax and now could not raise any objection in this regard.