KARACHI: The High Court of Sindh on Thursday directed the commissioner Inland Revenue to decide the appeal of fashion model Ayyan Ali against the ex-parte provisional assessment order by the Income Tax department for the recovery of Rs18.85 million and attachment order of her immovable properties for default of payable tax within 30 days.
Ayyan, now on bail, is facing charges of smuggling $500,000 and money laundering trial before the Customs courtat Rawalpindi. She was arrested by the Customs authorities at the Islamabad airport on March 14, 2015 and $506,800 wererecoveredfrom her luggage. According to the prosecution, she tried to smuggle an undeclared $506,800 from Pakistan to Dubai.
The Inland Revenue department had initiated the proceedings for the recovery of Rs18,857,500 against the fashion model following confiscation of $550,000 from her by the Customs authorities.
Petitioner's counsel Mohsin Virk and Zulfiqar Solangi submitted that the Income Tax department had issued ex-parte provisional assessment against the petitioner when she was incarcerated in the Rawalpindi prison and no opportunity of hearing was provided to defend the show cause notice.
He submitted that the petitioner also filed a stay application as well as condonation of delay on July 23 before the commissioner Inland Revenue against the ex-parte proceedings and the same was pending till today.
He submitted that the petitioner did not receive any notice regarding the ex-parte proceedings, however, the DHA issued a notice for attachment of her property situated in theDHA Phase-VIII on the basis of such impugned ex-parte income tax proceedings which was unjust and illegal.
The counsel submitted that the demand forthe recovery has been impugned and it was pending for adjudication before the commissioner Inland Revenue, therefore, threats for recovery under sections 137 and 138 (2) of the Income Tax Ordinance requirethe appellate authority to first decide the appeal filed by the petitioner urgently. He submitted that it was a settled principle by the superior courts that no coercive measures for recovery of disputed demand can be taken during the pending decision in the first appeal.
The court was requested to direct the commissioner Inland Revenue to decide the appeal of the petitioner expeditiously and in the meantime restrained the respondents from taking any coercive measures for the recovery of the disputed demand during the pendency of the main appeal before the commissioner Inland Revenue.
The counsel forthe Inland Revenue,Syed Irshadur Rehman, submitted that the matter could be disposed of if anappropriate direction wasgiven to the appellate authority for deciding the appeal of the petitioner expeditiously. The petitioner's counsel did not oppose such a suggestion. The SHC’s division bench, headed by Justice Munib Akhtar, directed the appellate authority to proceed the case of the petitioner within 30 days and observed that it will be the responsibility of the petitioner and her counsel to keep themselves appraised of said proceedings fixed by the appellate authority.