Updated tax laws omit footnotes on replaced legal provisions

ISLAMABAD: The updated Sales Tax Act, 1990 and Federal Excise Act, 2005 has not mentioned brief explanatory footnotes and references of the old/replaced sections of the law which are necessary to be highlighted at the footnote of the Acts.

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued updated Sales Tax Act, 1990 and Federal Excise Act, 2005, incorporating amendments made through Finance Act 2026.

Sales tax experts and practitioners told Business Recorder that the updated laws have specified the sections replaced with the new section, but the old provisions have not been reproduced in the foot note. Certain provisions of sub-sections have not been mentioned in the foot notes which need to be corrected.

Similarly, certain spelling mistakes have also been observed in the main contents of the Sales Tax Act, 1990. Furthermore, while preparing the footnotes, the clauses of the Finance Act, 2026 have been pasted instead of providing brief explanatory footnotes.

The FBR appeared to be deviated from its previous practice, and it appears that someone prepared the law in haste. It seems that revised law has not been thoroughly review before uploading the same on the FBR’s official website.

A well-respected tax lawyer stated that this unprecedented action by the Board may misguide taxpayers and requested that the Chairman, FBR, personally look into the matter and make the necessary corrections.

It appears that the updated laws have been issued in hurry which needs further review before uploading on the FBR website.

The Sales Tax Act, 1990 and Federal Excise Act, 2005as amended up to June 30, 2026 has been placed on the FBR website on Friday. The amendments made through Finance Act, 2026 have been shown in Red.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026