NA passes bill seeking amendment in Tax Laws

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Monday passed the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 which would give the legislative effect to the taxation proposals of the federal government.

The bill was taken by the House as the supplementary agenda and Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar moved the bill.

The House passed the amended bill which aims to give legislative effect to the taxation proposals of the federal government to liquidate a significant number of appeals pending before Commissioner IR (Appeals) and Appellate Tribunals as ATIR is the last fact-finding authority in the appellate hierarchy provided in fiscal statutes.

Over the years, and for various reasons, including arbitrary constitution of benches, inadequate number of benches, delay in fixation of cases and disposal of appeals, a substantial amount of revenue, to the tune of Rs 2 trillion, is held up in litigation before the ATIR.

Earlier, a meeting of Senate Special Committee to consider and make recommendations on the Money Bill, the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 was held at Parliament House.

Attorney General of Pakistan, Mansoor Awan, briefed the committee that the primary objective of the Money Bill is to create a dedicated ‘Director General Law’ position within the FBR for the timely disposal of tax litigation pending before Commissioner Inland Revenue and Appellate Tribunals.

Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar and Chairman FBR Malik Amjed Zubair Tiwana and other senior officials of Finance division and FBR also attended the meeting.

The Attorney General further added that Money Bill will serve as a safeguard against tax evasion, as the government is determined to broaden the tax base to combat the current financial crunch.

Moreover, the Money Bill curtails the period of appeals before the High Court from ninety days to thirty days and restricts the jurisdiction of Commissioner Appeal to cases where the value of tax does not exceed 10 million rupees, with the right of appeal in cases where the value assessment exceeds 10 million rupees before Appellate Tribunals.

After detailed deliberation, the Special Committee passed the Money Bill with amendments.