SC moved against hike in tax on telecom services
ISLAMABAD: A constitutional petition was Monday filed with the Supreme Court, praying that tax increase on telecom services be declared ultra vires of the Constitution.
Shahid Orakzai filed the petition under Article 184(3) of the Constitution, making the federation as respondent through the secretary Ministry of Law.
The petitioner raised three points of law: 1, whether the federation can impose any tax in the Finance Bill which is to be collected through a foreign commercial enterprise; 2, whether the federation can impose any tax on the business or clientele of foreign commercial enterprise which is against the letter and spirit of their mutual contract; and 3, whether a foreign commercial enterprise, being a person for the time being in Pakistan, can be discriminated against in the federal taxation. He pointed out that the tax was recently increased on the telecom sector to about 41.5 percent out of which the companies will claim 7 percent as service charges.
The petitioner prayed the court to bar the federation from deducting any tax imposed through the Finance Bill 2013 on the subscribers using cellphones until the disposal of the petition.
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