Senate body passes Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 with some amendments

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Special Committee Monday passed the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024 with some amendments to expedite disposal of tax litigation of Rs 2.7 trillion pending in courts.

A meeting of Senate Special Committee to consider and make recommendations on the Money Bill, the Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill,2024 was held here at Parliament House under the Convenership of Senator Farooq Hamid Naek.

Attorney General of Pakistan, Mansoor Awan, briefed the committee that the primary objective of the Money Bill is to create a dedicated ‘Director General Law’ position within the FBR for the timely disposal of tax litigation pending before Commissioner Inland Revenue and Appellate Tribunals.

Under the draft Tax Laws (Amendment) Bill,2024, the timelines for the stay orders have been reduced from six months to 30 days he said.

He further added that the Money Bill will serve as a safeguard against tax evasion, as the government is determined to broaden the tax base to combat the current financial crunch.

Senator Farooq Hamid Naek recommended that the Director General Law should be authorized to appoint regular lawyers, as reliance on private lawyers will only result in delays in the disposal of cases. Moreover, the Money Bill curtails the period of appeals before the High Court from ninety days to thirty days and restricts the jurisdiction of Commissioner Appeal to cases where the value of tax does not exceed 10 million rupees, with the right of appeal in cases where the value assessment exceeds 10 million rupees before Appellate Tribunals. In addition to that, the Special Committee unanimously rejected the observations submitted by Senator Ali Zafar in written form. After detailed deliberation, the Special Committee passed the Money Bill with amendments.

In attendance were Federal Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar, Attorney General of Pakistan Mansoor Awan, Chairman FBR Malik Amjed Zubair Tiwana and other senior officials of Finance division and FBR.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024