LHC order suspended: SC allows FBR to collect 50pc supertax on big companies

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to recover within a week the 50 percent supertax imposed on big companies earning over Rs150 million.

A two-member bench of the apex court, comprising Chief Justice Umer Ata Bandial and Justice Athar Minanallah, heard the appeals of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) against the interim order passed by the Lahore High Court (LHC).

Appearing on notice, Salman Akram Raja, counsel for the FBR, submitted before the court that the learned Lahore High Court (LHC) through an interim order had restrained the FBR from such recoveries while the final decision is yet to come in this regard.

However, counsel for the respondents contended that the government’s supertax on corporations was unconstitutional. After suspending the interim order of the learned High Court of Lahore, the Supreme Court allowed the Federal Board of Revenue to recover 50 percent of the supertax from these industries within a week.

The government had imposed a supertax on companies earning more than Rs 150 million last year. Cement industries, steel, sugar, oil and gas, fertilizers, textiles, automobiles, tobacco, and other companies were among them.

It was learnt that the government had expected to get an income of Rs 80 billion through the supertax; however, the respondent companies had approached the learned High Court while challenging the imposition of the supertax.

Last September, the Lahore High Court had issued an interim order prohibiting the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) from collecting supertax from these companies. Later on, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) filed appeals in the apex court against the interim order of the LHC.