The Lahore High Court on Friday annulled the Gas Infrastructure Develop-ment Cess (surcharge) being recovered from industrial and commercial consumers of gas under the head of "Pak-Iran Gas Pipeline Project". Allowing over 300 petitions, the court declared the levy of the surcharge as illegal. The petitioners'' counsel argued that the government imposed the impugned surcharge in 2011 through an ordinance. The counsel stated that the government could not recover any kind of levy through an ordinance.
He said that Supreme Court and Islamabad High Court had already set aside the impugned tax.
A deputy attorney general told the court that appeals of federal government against the decisions were pending adjudication before the apex court and urged the court to defer the matter.
The court, however, annulled the surcharge or cess for being illegal. The court also sought a reply from attorney general on petitions seeking reimbursement of the surcharge recovered so far.
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