51. Bar of suits, prosecution and other legal proceedings.– (1) No suit shall be brought in any Civil Court to set aside or modify any order passed, any assessment made, any tax levied, any penalty imposed or collection of any tax made under this Act.
(2) No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Federal Government or against any public servant in respect of any order passed in good faith under this Act.
(3) Notwithstanding anything in any other law for the time being in force, no investigation or inquiry shall be undertaken or initiated by any governmental agency against any officer or official for anything done in his official capacity under this Act, rules, instructions or direction made or issued thereunder without the prior approval of the Board.
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50B. Electronic scrutiny and intimation.– (1) The Board may implement a computerized system for the purpose of automated scrutiny, analysis and cross-matching of returns and other available data relating to registered persons and to electronically send intimations to such registered persons about any issue detected by the system.
(2) The intimation sent by the computerized system under sub-section (1) shall be in the nature of an advice or advance notice, aimed at allowing the registered person to clarify the issue, rectify any mistake or take other corrective action before any legal or penal action is initiated.
(3) The computerized system shall be so implemented so as to keep record of the issues detected, intimations sent, responses received and actions taken, and to present such information to the officer of Inland Revenue and to the Board in the prescribed manner.
(4) The Board may prescribe procedures and specifications for the smooth and efficient operation of the computerised system.
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50A. Computerized system.– (1) The Board may prescribe the use of computerized system for carrying out the purposes of this Act, including the receipt of applications for registration, returns and such other declarations or information required to be provided under this Act and the rules made thereunder, from such date and for such registered persons or class of persons as the Board may, by notification in the official Gazette, specify.
(2) The Board may make rules for regulating the conduct and transaction of business in relation to the submission of returns or other information to the Board by the persons required to transmit or receive any information through the computerized system, including matters such as grant of authorization, suspension and cancellation of authorization and for security of the information transmitted or received through the computerized system.
(3) Unless otherwise proved, the information received in the computerized system from or on behalf of any registered person shall, for all official and legal purposes, be deemed to have been furnished by and received from such registered person.
(4) The business information gathered through computerized system shall be confidential to be used only for official and legal purposes and no unauthorized person shall claim for any access to such information.
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The landscape of taxation in Pakistan is set to witness greater clarity and efficiency as Section 50 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, empowers the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to formulate rules for the effective implementation of the Act.
49A. Liquidators. – (1) Every person (hereinafter referred to as a “liquidator”) who is –
(a) a liquidator of a company;
(b) a receiver appointed by a Court or appointed out of Court;
(c) a trustee for a bankrupt; or
(d) a mortgagee in possession;
shall, within fourteen days of being appointed or taking possession of an asset in Pakistan, whichever occurs first, give written notice thereof to the Commissioner.
(2) The commissioner shall, within three months of being notified under sub-section (1), notify the liquidator, in writing, of the amount which appears to the Commissioner to be sufficient to provide for any sales tax which is or will become payable by the person whose assets are in the possession of the liquidator.
(3) A liquidator shall not, without leave of the Commissioner. Part with any asset held as liquidator until the liquidator has been notified under sub-section (2).
(4) A liquidator: –
(a) shall set aside, out of the proceeds of sale of any asset by the liquidator, the amount notified by the Commissioner under sub-section (2), or such amount as is subsequently agreed to by the Commissioner: and
(b) shall be liable to the extent of the amount set aside for the Sales tax liability of the person who owned the asset.
(5) A liquidator shall be personally liable to the extent of any amount required to be set-aside under sub-section (4) for the tax referred to in sub-section (2) if, and to the extent that, the liquidator fails to comply with the requirements of this section.
(6) Where the proceeds of sale of any asset are less than the amount notified by the Commissioner under sub-section (2), the application of sub-sections (4) and (5) shall be limited to the proceeds of sale.
(7) This section shall have effect notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force.
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49. Sales of taxable activity or transfer of ownership.–(1) In case of termination of taxable activity or part thereof or its sale or transfer of ownership to a non-registered person, the possession of taxable goods or part thereof by the registered person shall be deemed to be a taxable supply and the registered person shall be required to account for and pay the tax on the taxable goods held by him:
Provided that if the tax payable by such registered person remains unpaid, the amount of unpaid tax shall be the first charge on the assets of the business and shall be payable by the transferee of business.
(2) In the case of sale or transfer of ownership of a taxable activity or part thereof to another registered person as an ongoing concern, the taxable goods or part thereof shall be transferred to the new owner through a zero-rated invoice and the sales tax chargeable thereon shall be accounted for and paid by the registered person to whom such taxable activity or part thereof is transferred.
(Disclaimer: The text of above section is only for information. Team PkRevenue.com makes all efforts to provide the correct version of the text. However, the team PkRevenue.com is not responsible for any error or omission.)
48. Recovery of arrears of tax.–(1) Subject to sub-section (1A), where any amount of tax is due from any person, the officer of Inland Revenue may:-
(a) deduct the amount from any money owing to person from whom such amount is recoverable and which may be at the disposal or in the control of such officer or any officer of Income Tax, Customs or Central Excise Department;
(b) require by a notice in writing any person who holds or may subsequently hold any money for or on account of the person from whom tax may be recoverable to pay to such officer the amount specified in the notice;
(c) stop removal of any goods from the business premises of such person till such time the amount of tax is paid or recovered in full;
(ca) require by a notice in writing any person to stop clearance of imported goods or manufactured goods or attach bank accounts;
(d) seal the business premises till such time the amount of tax is paid or- recovered in full;
(e) attach and sell or sell without attachment any movable or immovable property of the registered person from whom tax is due; and
(f) recover such amount by attachment and sale of any moveable or- immovable property of the guarantor, person, company, bank or financial institution, where a guarantor or any other person, company, bank or financial institution fails to make payment under such guarantee, bond or instrument:
Provided that the Commissioner Inland Revenue or any officer of Inland Revenue shall not issue notice under this section or the rules made thereunder for recovery of any tax due from a taxpayer if the said taxpayer has filed an appeal under section 45B in respect of the order under which the tax sought to be recovered has become payable and the appeal has not been decided by the Commissioner (Appeals), subject to the condition that ten per cent of the amount of tax due has been paid by the taxpayer.
(1A) If any arrears of tax, default surcharge, penalty or any other amount which is adjudged or payable by any person and which cannot be recovered in the manner prescribed above, the Board or any officer authorized by the Board, may, write off the arrears in the manner as may be prescribed by the Board.
(2) For the purpose of recovery of tax, penalty or any other demand raised under this Act, the officer of Inland Revenue shall have the same powers which under the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 (V of 1908), a Civil Court has for the purpose of recovery of an amount due under a decree.
(3) The provision of sub-sections (1) and (2) shall mutatis mutandis apply regarding assistance in collection and recovery of taxes in pursuance of a request from a foreign jurisdiction under a tax treaty, bilateral or a multilateral convention, and inter-governmental agreement or similar agreement or mechanism.
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“47A. Alternative dispute resolution.— (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, or the rules made thereunder, an aggrieved person in connection with any dispute pertaining to—
(a) the liability of tax against the aggrieved person, or admissibility of refunds, as the case may be;
(b) the extent of waiver of default surcharge and penalty; or
(c) any other specific relief required to resolve the dispute, may apply to the Board for the appointment of a committee for the resolution of any hardship or dispute mentioned in detail in the application, which is under litigation in any court of law or an Appellate Authority, except where criminal proceedings have been initiated or where interpretation of question of law having effect on identical cases is involved having effect on other cases.
(2) The Board may, after examination of the application of an aggrieved person, appoint a committee, within sixty days of receipt of such application in the Board, comprising, —
(a) Chief Commissioner Inland Revenue having jurisdiction over the case; and
(b) two persons from a panel notified by the Board comprising of chartered accountants, cost and management accountants, advocates, having minimum of ten years’ experience in the field of taxation and reputable businessmen.
(3) The Board shall communicate the order of appointment of committee to the court of law or the appellate authority where the dispute is pending and the Commissioner.
(4) The Committee appointed under sub-section (2) shall examine the issue and may, if it deemed necessary, conduct inquiry, seek expert opinion, direct any officer of the Inland Revenue or any other person to conduct an audit and shall decide the dispute through consensus, within one hundred and twenty days of its appointment.
(5) The Committee may, in case of hardship, stay recovery of tax payable in respect of dispute pending before it for a period not exceeding one hundred and twenty days in aggregate or till the decision of the Committee or its dissolution, whichever is earlier.
(6) The decision of the committee under sub-section (4) shall be binding on the Commissioner when the aggrieved person, being satisfied with the decision, has withdrawn the appeal pending before any appellate authority or the court of law and has communicated the order of withdrawal to the Commissioner:
Provided that if the order of withdrawal is not communicated to the Commissioner within sixty days of the service of decision of the committee upon the aggrieved person, the decision of the committee shall not be binding on the Commissioner.
(7) If the Committee fails to decide within the period of one hundred and twenty days under sub-section (4), the Board shall dissolve the committee by an order in writing and the matter shall be decided by the court of law or the appellate authority where the dispute is pending.
(8) The Board shall communicate the order of dissolution to the court of law or the Appellate Authority and the Commissioner.
(9) The aggrieved person, on receipt of the order of dissolution, shall communicate it to the court of law or the appellate authority, where the dispute is pending.
(10) The aggrieved person may make the payment of sales tax and other taxes as decided by the committee under sub-section (4) and all decisions and orders made or passed shall stand modified to that extent.
(11) The Board may prescribe the amount to be paid as remuneration for the services of the members of the Committee, other than the member appointed under clause (i) of sub-section (2).
(12) The Board may, by notification in the official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this section.
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47. Reference to the High Court.—(1) Within ninety days of the communication of the order of the Appellate Tribunal under sub-section (2) of section 46, the aggrieved person or any officer of Inland Revenue not below the rank of an Additional Commissioner, authorized by the Commissioner may prefer an application in the prescribed form along with a statement of the case to the High Court, stating any question of law arising out of such order.
(2) The statement to the High Court referred to in sub-section (1), shall set out the facts, the determination of the Appellate Tribunal and the question of law, which arises out of its order.
(3) Where, on an application made under sub-section (1), the High Court is satisfied that a question of law arises out of the order referred to in sub-section (1), may proceed to hear the case.
(4) A reference to the High Court under this section shall be head by a bench of not less than two judges of the High Court and, in respect of the reference, the provisions of section 98 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act V of 1908) shall apply, so far as may be, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force.
(5) The High Court upon hearing a reference under this section shall decide the question of law raised by the reference and deliver judgment thereon specifying the grounds on which such judgment is based and the order of the Tribunal shall stand modified accordingly. The Court shall send a copy of the judgment under the seal of the Court to the Appellate Tribunal.
(6) The cost of any reference to the High Court shall be in the discretion of the Court.
(7) Notwithstanding that a reference has been made to the High Court, the tax shall be payable in accordance with the order of the Appellate Tribunal:
Provided that, if the amount of tax is reduced as a result of the judgment in the reference by the High Court, and amount of tax found refundable by the High Court, the High Court may on application by an Additional Commissioner authorized by the Commissioner within thirty days of the receipt of the judgment of the High Court that he intends to seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court, make an order authorizing the Collector to postpone the refund until the disposal of the appeal by the Supreme Court.
(8) Where recovery of tax has been stayed by the High Court by an order, such order shall cease to have effect on the expiration of a period of six months following the day on which it is made unless the reference is decided, or such order is withdrawn, by the High Court earlier.
(9) Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1908 (IX of 1908), shall apply to an application made to the High Court under sub-section (1).
(10) An application under sub-section (1) by a person other than the Additional Commissioner authorized by the Commissioner shall be accompanied by a fee of one hundred rupees.
(11) Notwithstanding anything contained in any provision of this Act, where any reference or appeal was filed with the approval of Commissioner by the officer of lower rank than the Commissioner, and the reference or appeal is pending before an appellate forum or the Court, such reference or appeal shall always be deemed to have been so filed by the Commissioner.
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