In a significant development for Pakistan’s national exchequer, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has successfully recovered over Rs600 billion following the vacation of stay orders by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in 270 long-pending tax-related cases. These cases, some of which had been stalled in the IHC for over two decades, had previously incapacitated the FBR from recovering substantial tax amounts.
The swift action by three separate IHC division benches has cleared a massive backlog, allowing the FBR to proceed with the collection of vital government revenue.
Judicial Efforts Lead to Massive Recovery
According to details, the concerted efforts of three IHC division benches were instrumental in deciding these long-standing tax disputes:
- A division bench comprising Justice Mohammad Azam Khan and Justice Raja Inaam Ameen Minhas decided an overwhelming majority of 173 tax cases, involving a staggering Rs424 billion. This bench also separately decided 125 cases related to Income Tax References (ITR), Sales Tax References (STR), and the Foreign Exchange Regulations Act (FERA), where recoverable amounts totaled Rs290.51 billion (ITR), Rs131.55 billion (STR), and Rs3.16 billion (FERA).
- Another IHC bench, consisting of Justice Babar Sattar and Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan, cleared 94 cases in which over Rs150 billion in recoveries had been stalled.
- A bench comprising acting IHC Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfraz Dogar and Justice Raja Inaam Ameen Minhas lifted stay orders and decided three petitions that had, in 2023, restrained the FBR from collecting Rs36 billion.
Push for Expeditious Disposal of Tax Cases
This recent judicial efficiency comes after a concerted push for the expeditious disposal of tax-related matters. In February of this year, the Prime Minister met with Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Yahya Afridi to discuss the agenda for an upcoming meeting of the National Judicial Policy Making Committee (NJPMC). During this meeting, the Prime Minister specifically requested the CJP to prioritize the swift resolution of tax-related cases.
Subsequently, in its meeting held in April, the NJPMC also advised for the swift disposal of tax-related matters, explicitly asking the high courts to constitute special benches dedicated to the expeditious handling of such cases.
Following the NJPMC’s advice and directions issued by the apex court on tax matters, the IHC Judicial Registrar proactively put up a note before the acting Chief Justice for the consolidation and expedited disposal of all pending tax matters. This coordinated effort between the executive and the judiciary has now yielded significant financial results for the FBR and the national treasury.
This landmark recovery is expected to provide a substantial boost to the FBR’s revenue collection efforts and signals a renewed focus on clearing judicial backlogs that impact fiscal stability.
