Stockbrokers' plea: SHC restrains FBR from recovering capital gains tax

Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday granted stay in recovery of capital gains tax from stock brokers by restraining Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) from passing any final order in this regard. SHC took up the petition of stock brokers, which moved the high court against FBR's notice to recover Rs 10 million capital gains tax from 200 members of stock exchange each following the demutualization of stock exchange. Federal government and FBR have been made respondents in the petition.
A two-member bench of SHC headed by Justice Aqeel Abbasi is hearing the case, which put off the hearing for May 23 by restraining FBR to collect capital gains tax from 200 members of stock exchange. Haider Waheed, counsel of stock brokers pleaded the court to restrain the respondents from taking action against his client as well as taking any coercive action against them.
The petition was filed by PSX Stock Brokers Association with its twenty five members becoming part of this petition. The petitioners prayed that they are amongst the 200 members of Karachi Stock Exchange (Guarantee) Limited formed in 1947 and in 2012, in order to develop the stock exchanges of the country and streamline the securities markets, the government promulgated the Stock Exchanges (Corporatization, Demutualization and Integration) Act, 2012, whereby Karachi Stock Exchange (Guarantee) Limited, as it then was stood corporatized and demutualized as a public company limited by shares from a company limited by guarantee under the name of 'Karachi Stock Exchange Limited', with effect from August 27, 2012.