KARACHI: A division bench of High Court of Sindh (SHC) on Tuesday dismissed a constitution petition challenging imposition of Sindh Sales Tax on Service directing the petitioner to exhaust the departmental and other remedies available first and then move SHC if deemed necessary.
The bench comprising Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi and Justice Abdul Maalik Gaddi earlier heard counsel for petitioner Al Hussain Traders, Contractors. The counsel for petitioner citing the Sindh Finance department, Sindh Revenue Board (SRB), Deputy Collector SRB maintained that the petitioner is engaged in construction, erection of towers for National Transmission and Dispatch Company Limited, HESCO, Sukkur Electric Power etc which all come under control of the federal government.
The petitioner impugning a show cause dated 7-3-2016 for payment of Sales Tax on Services at a rate of 16 per cent maintained that taxing the petitioner amounts to taxing the federal government. The petitioner’s counsel relied on Article 165 of the Constitution of Pakistan and said that provincial government cannot tax the federal government.
Additional Advocate General Sindh Saifuddin representing the Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) submitted that petitioner came to the court directly without exhausting department and other remedies available to him under the law. The petitioner should have responded to the show cause notice and raise his grievance, AAG submitted
The bench agreed to the arguments by the AAG and dismissed the petition directing him to first avail the departmental remedies.