The Lahore High Court on Wednesday providing interim relief against the imposition of luxury tax on imported cars, fixed December 12 as further date of hearing on the petition along with a number of similar petitions that are already pending before the court.
Bank Al-Islamic Pakistan and others have also challenged the imposition of luxury tax on imported cars of 2000CC and above and registered after June 2005 vide Punjab Finance Act of 2008. The petitioners pleaded that Punjab government under section 6 of Punjab Finance Act 2008 imposed luxury tax on imported cars that were registered after June 30, 2005.
They pointed out that they had paid the tax at the rate of 2 percent at the time of registration of their cars. Further, the petitioners said luxury cars like Mercedes Benz and BMW have been exempted from luxury tax. They stated that whether a car falls under the definition of 'luxury' cannot be determined on the basis of CC engines fixed in the cars rather, it should be ascertained by the price and facilities available in the car.