ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) was told on Wednesday that Section 4C of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 is completely illegal and unconstitutional and does not meet any standard of federal legislation.
A three-member FCC bench, headed by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan and comprising Justice Syed Hassan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Arshad Hussain, on Wednesday heard the appeals of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) against the judgments of Sindh, Lahore and Islamabad high courts regarding levy of super tax through Section 4B inserted in the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.
Continuing his arguments, Makhdom Ali Khan, counsel for taxpayer companies, submitted before the court that Section 4C of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 is completely illegal and unconstitutional and did not meet any standard of federal legislation.
The counsel contended that when the law itself did not permit the collection of this tax, under which law had the tax been collected thus far.
Justice Rizvi asked the counsel whether the FBR and commissioners had been made parties in the Islamabad High Court. He replied in affirmative adding that both were made parties in the IHC.
The counsel further submitted that Section 4C was entirely illegal and unconstitutional and failed to meet any criteria of federal legislation. He said the super tax was an additional burden on the business community, and its rate had not been applied uniformly across all sectors, which further increased discrimination. Meanwhile, the court adjourned the hearing for Thursday (today).
