In a recent development, the Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court (IHC) has instructed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to enforce a judgment favoring Pakistan Mobile Communications Limited, commonly known as Jazz, regarding the collection of estimated advance tax.
This decision comes after the IHC dismissed a case presented by the Large Taxpayer Office (LTO) Islamabad, which sought to collect advance tax from Jazz. According to sources, the Chief Justice of IHC has now issued a ruling in favor of Jazz and has directed the Chairman of FBR to promptly implement the court’s decision.
ProPakistani’s sources revealed that Jazz has been contesting notices issued by the LTO Islamabad, which demanded the payment of advance tax by discarding the estimation filed for advance tax payment purposes.
The IHC, through a series of judgments, has clarified that estimates submitted by taxpayers for advance tax purposes must be accepted verbatim by the tax department. If it is later found to be incorrect during the examination of the annual return, appropriate modifications can be made, and penal action can be taken under section 205 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.
Consequently, the IHC deemed the notices issued by the LTO Islamabad as lacking lawful authority and set them aside. If the petitioner’s filed returns for the relevant tax years are found to be defective or the estimates were incorrect, sources added, appropriate action can still be taken under section 205 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.
