Strike of ATIR staff brings appellate process to a standstill

KARACHI: A pen-down strike by employees of the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue (ATIR), Karachi, has effectively brought the appellate process to a standstill, leaving taxpayers and their legal representatives in a precarious situation as statutory deadlines continue to tick away.

The strike, which commenced on February 9, 2026, was triggered by the federal government’s suspension of judicial allowance for January, infuriating ATIR staff, who went on a pen-down strike until their demand was accepted. What makes the situation particularly contentious is that the government had earlier suspended the same allowance, restored it three months ago, and then discontinued it again.

Shams Mohiuddin Ansari, General Secretary of the Karachi Tax Bar Association (KTBA), confirmed to Business Recorder that while the strike entered its second week, ATIR staff has partially resumed work, now entertaining stay applications during the second half of the working day. The KTBA, in its formal letter written to the ATIR Chairman, urged the adoption of an emergency mechanism to allow appeals and stay applications to be accepted during the strike period.

The KTBA also asked the ATIR chairman to issue a standing order directing the Registrar to condone the complete strike period and ensure that any appeal filed after the strike is accepted without limitation objections.

The KTBA further requested that where condonation of delay applications is filed, the strike period must be excluded from delay calculations, and all such appeals should be admitted accordingly. “Your timely intervention will uphold the principles of fairness and access to justice, while reinforcing public confidence in the integrity of the appellate process,” the KTBA letter said.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026