Federal Constitutional Court upholds super tax

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Tuesday rejected petitions against Super Tax,.

Chief Justice of the Federal Constitutional Court, Ameenuddin Khan announced a short order in the super tax case after conclusion of arguments from both sides.

The hearing was conducted by a bench headed by Chief Justice Ameenuddin Khan, alongside Justice Hassan Rizvi and Justice Arshad Hussain Shah.

The Federal Constitutional Court ruled that objections regarding the maintainability of the case were dismissed. Section 4B of the Tax Ordinance, 2015, was upheld, while High Court judgments relating to Section 4C were declared partially null and void.

The court rejected petitions filed against the super tax for the year 2015, holding that Parliament has the constitutional authority to levy tax on income. Petitions challenging the super tax imposed in 2022 were also dismissed.

The court further ruled that if any individual or entity in the oil and gas sector is entitled to relief, they may approach the relevant forum. It clarified that the tax will not apply to Modarabas, mutual funds and benevolent funds.

According to the court’s decision, separate statutory exemptions applicable to different sectors will remain in place.

Earlier, the court had reserved its verdict after concluding the hearing.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had announced a super-tax of 10 percent on large-scale manufacturers and industries in the country and said that industries related to steel, cement, sugar, oil and gas, fertilizers, energy and terminal, and textile would face a 10 percent tax.