ISLAMABAD: The Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue (ATIR) Multan has directed the concerned Commissioner Inland Revenue (CIR) to pay Rs20,000 as cost to the authorised representative of a taxpayer after the department failed to comply with the Tribunal’s earlier directions.
The tax department was directed to submit audit report to the taxpayer prior to issuance of the show-cause notice. However, the tax department failed to comply with the directives of the tribunal.
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The order has been passed in an appeal concerning Muhammad Ismail of Okara against the Commissioner Inland Revenue, Regional Tax Office (RTO) Sahiwal, for Tax Year 2020.
The order has been issued by Tribunal Members Khurram Shahbaz Butt and Mian Abdul Bari Rashid.
During the proceedings, the taxpayer’s authorised representative, Ghulam Akbar Khosa, Advocate, submitted that under an earlier order dated June 4, 2026, the Tribunal had directed the concerned Commissioner, through the Departmental Representative (DR), to establish through admissible documentary evidence that the audit report under Section 177 (6) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 had been issued to the taxpayer prior to issuance of the show-cause notice.
According to the authorised representative, despite the Tribunal’s direction, the department failed to provide the required evidence. When confronted with the direction, the learned DR was unable to give a satisfactory explanation for the non-compliance.
The Tribunal observed that, in view of what it termed the “delinquent and non-compliant attitude” towards its directions, it was not inclined to grant any further opportunity without imposing costs.
Accordingly, the concerned Commissioner was directed to pay Rs20,000 as costs to the authorised representative, who had travelled from Lahore to attend the proceedings.
The Tribunal further adjourned the matter to a date to be fixed by the office and once again directed the DR to ensure strict compliance with its order dated June 4, 2026.
The Tribunal made it clear that in case of any further non-compliance, it could be constrained to direct the personal appearance of the concerned Commissioner.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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