KARACHI: Justice Muhammad Junaid Ghaffar of High Court of Sindh ordered framing of legal issues in a suit filed by Hill Park General Hospital pertaining to alleged income tax evasion of millions of rupees.
The bench heard the counsel for plaintiff as well as Income Tax, Custom Officials and fixed Feb 29 for detailed hearing.
According to details, the tax authorities after due notice to the management of the hospital visited the place, examined the record and take some record into possession during which the hospital authorities voluntarily cooperated.
The sifting of the record as well as documents lead to the finding that hospital is maintaining two account namely Current Account and “Current Running Account”. The forensic study of computed data allegedly established an evasion in the income tax (services) to the tune of rupees 51. 4 million.
The plaintiff denies any evasion and maintains that custom authorities or authorities who have taken action against them are not empowered to do so.
The bench after perusing the questions of law raised by the plaintiff and reply by the department ordered framing of legal issues so that controversy is decided.
The evasion detected is very common in hospitals across the city, maintains the authorities. The most of the plots on which hospital are constructed have been allotted in the names of “Trust” and the bye law chartered spell out that activities will be charitable at nominal price. The managements maintain different accounts while amount of fee was also suppressed to evade taxes; the authorities maintain adding that evasion runs into billions of rupees.