LHC stays GST recovery on advocates' fees

The Lahore High Court has stayed the recovery of the general sales tax on professional fees of advocates and issued notices to the federal and the provincial governments. The court told law officers to help it in the next hearing. Lahore High Court Bar, Lahore Tax Bar and the Lahore Bar Associations have challenged the 16 percent tax.
Lahore High Court Bar Association President Pir Masood Chishti has argued that the tax would make the provision of justice unaffordable and that the litigant public would have to bear the burden in addition to the fee to engage an advocate.