RAZA MOTOR INDUSTRIES vs FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN through Secretary Finance, Revenue Division, Islamabad Discret

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RAZA MOTOR INDUSTRIES VS FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN through Secretary Finance, Revenue Division, Islamabad Discretion---Scope---Jurisdiction by its nature is a general concept of power to do a particular thing whether it involves discretion or not---Legal concept of discretion implies power to make a choice between alternative courses of action---If only one course can lawfully be adopted, the decision taken is not the exercise of a discretion but performance of a duty---Concept of discretion refers to decisions where law does not dictate a specific outcome or where the tribunal is given a choice of options within a statutorily imposed set of boundaries. S.177 [as substituted through Finance Act, 2010]---Selection for audit---Principle---Petitioners / taxpayers were aggrieved of notices of selection of their cases for audit--- Plea raised by petitioners/ taxpayers was that before selection of case for audit Commissioner was required to call for record or documents from taxpayer and to communicate to him reasons for doing so---Validity---Selection for audit under original S.177 of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, was subject to fulfillment of certain conditions as enumerated in cls. (a) to (d) of the then S.177 (1) of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001--- Conditions were omitted from S. 177 of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, as substituted through Finance Act, 2010 and instead requirement of giving reasons for calling of record / documents was imposed on Commissioner through proviso to S.177 (1) of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001---Commissioner was then liable to give reasons for summoning of record and proceedings with the audit---Selection for audit per se did not saddle taxpayers with any liability---Such selection did not constitute an actionable injury to taxpayers entitling them to challenge the same in a Court of law---Audit was a much wider exercise than amendment of assessment---If assessment was to be amended in the course of audit the taxpayers had remedy to challenge the same by resorting to remedies of multiple appeals / references available under Income Tax Ordinance, 2001---Commissioner in the notices gave reasons for summoning record / documents and selection for audit--- Requirements of proviso to S.177(1) of Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, were met with and there was no reason for petitioners / taxpayers to be aggrieved of notices issued to them and to challenge the same---Constitutional petition was dismissed, in circumstances. Discretion, exercise of---Principle---Where discretion is granted by Legislature to an authority to be exercised in a variety of circumstances that discretion is intended to be exercised by the repository without placing any fetters on such jurisdiction.

RAZA MOTOR INDUSTRIES vs FEDERATION OF PAKISTAN through Secretary Finance, Revenue Division, Islamabad Discretion — 2022 PTD 19 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

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