ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) – the apex court – has suspended the order of Sindh High Court (SHC) on the issuance of tax notices to Pakistanis regarding their overseas assets.
A statement issued by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Tuesday, stated that while granting leave to appeal, the SCP has suspended the orders of Sindh High Court (SHC) on the issuance of notices by FBR to Pakistanis regarding their overseas assets, income and expenses. The Apex Court has accepted the plea of FBR for hearing of an appeal. A three-member bench of Supreme Court heard the plea under the Chair of Justice Umar Atta Bandial.
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Earlier, Sindh High Court (SHC) had declared FBR’s notices null & void and illegal in December, 2020. The lawyer of FBR stated during the hearing that in accordance with Income Tax Ordinance-2001, all the Pakistanis having assets or income abroad were obligated to declare their assets, income and expenses along with their annual returns. To comply with the stated legal provision, FBR had issued the notices to the Pakistanis having foreign source income or assets abroad but had not declared them alongwith the Income Tax Returns.
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Therefore, some individuals preferred to appeal before Sindh High Court against issuance of notices by FBR and pleaded before the court to declare the notices as illegal.
While accepting the plea of hearing appeal, Supreme Court stated that notices issued by FBR could not be challenged before the High Court as per law settled by the Apex Court.
