ISLAMABAD: The Public Interest Litigation Committee (PILC) of the Lahore Tax Bar Association (LTBA) has formally flagged a tax matter on tribunal proceedings that strikes at the root of public confidence in the appellate taxation system of Pakistan.
In a communication addressed to the Chairman of the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue (ATIR) and marked in advance copy to the Prime Minister’s Performance Delivery Unit, the Federal Minister for Law and Justice, and the Secretary, Law and Justice Division, the Committee has requested an urgent and independent investigation into the conduct of proceedings before Appellate Tribunal, Islamabad.
The representation, moved by Chairman of the LTBA-PILC, is founded on a written complaint received from Muhammad Zulqarnain Awan, Advocate dated 13 July 2026. An order rejecting the condonation application, though dated 19.05.2026 on its face, is alleged to have actually been issued on 24.06.2026, over a month later, without any explanation for the delay.
Despite the condonation application having purportedly been rejected on 19.05.2026, the main appeal was nonetheless fixed and heard on 03.06.2026, a sequence the complainant describes as irreconcilable with an innocent reading of the record, the applicant alleged.
The ATIR order sheet dated 19.05.2026, as available with the applicant, is stated to be missing the signature of one of the Members of the Bench, notwithstanding representations that the file was still lying in the issuance branch as late as 23.06.2026.
The LTBA-PILC has been careful to note that these remain, at this stage, allegations and that no finding of guilt against any individual Member of the Bench is intended or implied. The Committee has explicitly stated that such a determination is properly reserved for a competent and independent inquiry. Nevertheless, it has termed the allegations “grave,” warning that if true even in part, they would strike at the integrity of the judicial record of an appellate forum entrusted with tax adjudication in Pakistan.
LTBA-PILC has requested the Chairman, ATIR, to cause a detailed and independent investigation, on a priority basis, into the circumstances surrounding the alleged backdating, delayed issuance, and unsigned status of the order sheet dated 19.05.2026, along with the related contradictions in the record. It has further requested that the outcome of the investigation be shared with the Committee for its information and record.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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