KARACHI: A division bench of High Court of Sindh (SHC) comprising Justice Sajjad Ali Shah and Justice Junaid Ghaffar on Monday adjourned hearing of a plea by New Horizon Computers against a Sales Tax , Value Addition tax etc demand by Inland Revenue department worth rupees 5.8 bln.

The bench earlier heard Khalid Javed Khan advocate, counsel for plaintiff who sought a hearing but the court noted that identical matter are to be placed before the bench no 1 headed by the Chief Justice. The bench then adjourned hearing ordering that plea is fixed before the bench as per roster on October 27.

The plaintiff company through a partner Rahim impugns a notice by Director I & I of the Inland Revenue department.

The plaintiff maintains that company is importer, assembler, manufacturer and supplier of the IT products including lap tops, note books, printers etc and also have an arrangement with Hewellet Packard Singapore for supply of the products. Alleging harassment and coercion, plaintiff maintains that defendants including Chairman FBR, Additional Commissioner Inland Revenue have served a notice demanding payment of rupees 5.98 billion as Sales Tax and Value Addition Tax for the period July 2008 to March 2014.. The payment is not due and false assertions have been made in the notice, the counsel for plaintiff pleads.

The Directorate of I&I in response submitted a copy of the notice which details the supply of IT goods to following organizations namely Higher Education Commission Punjab, F.B.R, I.B.A, Mehran University, University of Education, Pak Canada Debt Swap Project Education Department, WHO (Pakistan), Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology, The Aman Foundation, Quaid-e-Azam University of Engineering, Science and Technology, N.E,D University, Fauji Foundation, Institute of Space Technology ,Islamabad,LUMS , Hamdard University and AIR University.

The notice maintains that there was “massive tax evasion through misuse of various provisions relating to exemption and zero rating of the Sales Tax.