Summary pending for eight months: SRB yet to establish Appellate Tribunal

Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) has failed to establish the much-awaited Appellate Tribunal despite lapse of more than seven months, it is learnt on Thursday. The authorities at SRB had in July last year forwarded a summary to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah seeking his approval to establish Appellate Tribunal, sources said adding that the concerned officials at the CM'S Secretariat returned the summary with some objections.
Later, the SRB with the help of the provincial law department resolved the objections, and the summary was again sent to Chief Minister for his approval. However despite the passage of over seven months, it was still pending with the CM due to what the sources called an inefficiency of the concerned officials.
Sources were of the view that the Appellate Tribunal was urgently needed by the provincial tax collection body, as it had started ST collection on services from July 1, 2011 and only after establishment of the tribunal, appeals regarding tax issues could be accepted for hearing.
The Appellate Tribunal shall consist of a Chairperson and judicial and accountant members. The SRB would propose the names of qualified persons for the posts and would again sent it to the Chief Minister for his approval, sources said. According to details, a person may be appointed as a judicial member of the tribunal, who is qualified to be a judge of the High Court and has remained a judge of the District court for at least five years. While, a person may be appointed as an accountant member of the tribunal, who has been an officer of SRB/FBR equivalent to the rank of Commissioner (Appeals) and who has at least three years experience, sources said.
The government shall appoint a member of Appellate Tribunal as Chairperson of the tribunal and except in special circumstances, the person appointed should be a judicial member. The powers and functions of Appellate Tribunal shall be exercised and discharged by benches constituted from members of the tribunal by Chairperson of the tribunal. Subject to sub-section (7), a bench shall consist of not less than two members of the Appellate Tribunal and shall be constituted so as to contain an equal number of judicial and accountant members or so that the number of members of one class does not exceed number of members of other class by more than one, sources informed.
Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sections (7) and (8), the Chairperson may constitute as many benches consisting of a single member as he may deem necessary to hear such cases or class of cases as government may by order in writing, specify, sources further informed.
The Chairperson or other member of the Appellate Tribunal, authorised by the Chairperson may singly, dispose of any case where amount of tax or penalty involved does not exceed five million rupees. When contacted, Chairman SRB Nazar Hussein Mehar told Business Recorder that the summary was yet to be approved by the CM. He hoped that the tribunal would be established soon.