CJP questions tax imposition by cantonment board

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa on Thursday objected to imposition of taxes by the Cantonment Board, Karachi, on restaurants, banks and poultry farms, saying the elected governments alone can impose taxes.

A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, heard the case against collection of taxes by the Cantonment Board, Karachi, from restaurants, banks and poultry farms. He remarked that only the federal or provincial governments could impose taxes. He questioned how a cantonment board could impose a tax on professionals.

The additional attorney general said a local government was an elected body and authorized to impose taxes. The chief justice asked if a tax was imposed on lawyers, and whether it would be collected by a local body. Justice Athar Minallah said the objection was that local governments couldn’t impose taxes under Article 163 of the Constitution. The CJP said: “We cannot ignore the Constitution of Pakistan. How can the authorization of tax collection be given to someone else?”The court served a notice on the attorney general of Pakistan for assistance in the case. Later, the Supreme Court adjourned the hearing till October 13.