Petitions disposed of: Telecom companies asked to pay 10 percent FED

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday disposed of identical applications filed by some private telecom companies against 10 percent Federal Excise Duty (FED) with directives to deposit Rs 1.97 billion in the national kitty. A single-member bench headed by Justice Noor-ul-Haq N. Qureshi heard a petition filed by as many as six telecom companies, challenging a 10 percent federal excise tax duty.
The court directed all the companies to pay a 10 percent federal excise duty. The counsel for telecom companies pleaded that his clients are franchise of Etisalat, the UAE and the government has decided to impose a duty on them which is illegal. He maintained that the companies are bound to pay tax to Etisalat and not to the government of Pakistan.
Hafiz Munwar Iqbal, the counsel for the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), however, contended that all the companies are improving their services in Pakistan and earning a huge profit, adding as per law all the companies are bound to pay a 10 percent federal excise tax. He added that FBR has issued notices to all the companies in this regard, but companies are still not paying the tax. The court while disposing of all the petitions directed the companies to pay 10 percent federal excise duty tax.