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FEDERAL BOARD OF REVENUE vs ABDUL GHANI Ss — 2021 SCMR 1154 SUPREME-COURT

Case information

Citation
2021 SCMR 1154 SUPREME-COURT
Court
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Year
2021
Reporter
SCMR
Parties
FEDERAL BOARD OF REVENUE vs ABDUL GHANI Ss
Subject matter
Tax & Customs
Provisions referred to
S. 74; Sales Tax Act

Fields are extracted from the reported citation and judgment text. Where a detail is not stated in the record, it is not shown.

Judgment text as reported

FEDERAL BOARD OF REVENUE VS ABDUL GHANI Ss. 11(5) & 74---Default in payment of sales tax---Show cause notice, issuance of---Limitation---Delay of almost fifteen (15) years in sending notice---Condonation of delay under S. 74 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990---Scope---Section 11(5) of the Sales Tax Act, 1990 ('the Act') prescribed a limitation period of five years from the relevant date for commencing action through a show cause notice against the person in default---In the present case, to overcome the delay of nearly 15 years in the issuance of the said notice permission was obtained from the Federal Board of Revenue ('the Board') under S. 74 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990--- Held, that order passed under S. 74 of the Act by the Board failed to state any reason for extending the limitation period for issuance of a show cause notice against the respondent-tax payer---Said requirement was meant to ensure fairness and transparency in the exercise of statutory discretion by the Board which suffered from opacity and therefore unreasonableness---Section 74 of the Act neither specifically envisaged nor provided guidance, criteria or parameters for overriding any limitation period prescribed by the Act for initiating action against a taxpayer---Consequently, on the facts of the present case S. 74 could not be interpreted so as to authorise the unchecked reversal of a statutory limitation period and consequential legal rights created by it---Show cause notice issued by the tax department suffered from fatal defects that floated on the face of the record---Petition for leave to appeal was dismissed and leave refused.

Other judgments reported in 2021 SCMR

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