FBR has failed to implement ATIR order

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has failed to implement a key direction issued by the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue (ATIR), which required the FBR to issue instructions to all field formations to promptly implement ATIR’s orders within two months.

The FBR is bound to issue instructions to all field formations to strictly observe the mandate of section 124(4) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001. The said provision mandates implementation of the ATIR’s orders within two months.

In a recent order of the ATIR, the tribunal had categorically directed that any deliberate or willful non-compliance of its orders in the future would attract serious consequences, including possible referral of such cases to the Federal Tax Ombudsman for appropriate action.

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When contacted, tax lawyer Waheed Shahzad Butt who represented this case told this correspondent that tax authorities are willfully defying the lawful directions of the ATIR merely to fabricate performance figures and project inflated tax demand data, which in reality is flimsy and unsustainable.

Continued disregard of binding judicial and quasi-judicial directions not only undermines the rule of law but also reflects systemic administrative malaise within the FBR.

The ATIR order states: “Department was under a statutory obligation to give effect to the order in terms of section 124(4) in prescribed time frame. Any omission or delay in implementing a judicial pronouncement not only constitutes maladministration but also erodes the rule of law and undermines public trust in the tax administration. Once an order attains finality, it is binding upon the Department and must be implemented, unless expressly suspended or set aside by a competent higher forum.

Any departure from or delay in implementation is legally impermissible and may render the concerned officials liable to appropriate proceedings under law. Any deliberate or willful non-compliance in the future shall attract consequences in accordance with law, including possible referral to the FTO under section 9(1) of the FTO Ordinance.”

The chairman FBR is advised to issue necessary instructions to all field formations to strictly observe the mandate of section 124(4) in order to uphold institutional credibility and avoid needless litigation, the ATIR ordered.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025