Orders that may affect taxpayers: SC asks FBR to gazette, display on website

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to gazette all notifications, orders, etc., which may affect taxpayers and also to display them on the website of the FBR.

Explaining the review petition (426 of 2022) of Commissioner Inland Revenue, Peshawar against the M/s Shiraz Restaurant, the Lintel Consultancy, Karachi, explained that the FBR has filed a review petition before the SC on the issue of powers for the amendment of assessment under Section 122 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.

In an earlier order, the SC gave an opportunity to the FBR to provide the document about the delegation of the commissioner’s authority to the deputy commissioner.

SC tells FBR: All notifications must be gazetted and placed on website

Through the review petition, the FBR submitted the jurisdiction order vide No 616 dated 5 December 2009.

During the proceedings, the SC noted that the said order does not contain a reference to Section 122. Interestingly, the FBR failed to assist the SC when the SC asked about the availability of jurisdiction order on the website and publication of it in the gazette.

The SC observed that “taxpayers should know who is exercising authority and whether such exercise of authority is permissible”.

On the main issue before the SC, it is noted that the said jurisdiction order does not delegate the statutory power of the commissioner to the deputy commissioner.

In view of the above, the SC held that the assessment order passed by the deputy commissioner under Section 122 was not sustainable. Considering the above legal infirmities, the SC dismissed the FBR’s review petition with a cost of Rs10,000 payable to charity.

The SC further ordered the FBR to gazette all notifications, orders, etc., which may affect taxpayers and also to display them on the website of the FBR, Lintel Consultancy, Karachi added.

The bench dismissed the Commissioner Inland Revenue’s petition with a cost - Rs10,000, asking the counsel to deposit this amount in any charity organisation of his or the petitioner’s choice within a week and submit its receipt in the apex court for record. The SC office is directed to send this order to the chairman FBR for circulation to the regional commissioners income tax.

The court noted that the FBR should be more transparent as it is the highest tax-collecting body in the country. It said non-transparency and the concealment of the documents by the tax authorities have overburdened the high courts with references and encroached upon the limited time of the apex court.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023