ISLAMABAD: The fate of the increase in general sales tax (GST) by one per cent before its passage by the National Assembly will become clear on Friday (today) when the Supreme Court unveils its verdict on the matter.
“We will announce the short order tomorrow (Friday),” said Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Thursday, after closing the hearings initiated on a suo motu following the sudden increase in petroleum prices. The price increase came after Finance Minister Ishaq Dar proposed in his budget speech that the GST be raised from 16pc to 17pc.
Sensing the possible outcome after detailed arguments on the subject, Attorney General Muneer A. Malik requested the three-judge Supreme Court bench that if it was inclined to strike down the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act (PCTA) 1931, under which the GST was increased to 17pc, then it could give its verdict a prospective effect instead of a retrospective affect in line with principles laid down in the 1998 Malik Asad Ali case.
“I can recognise problems with the colonial legislation but will beseech the court that there is a Peshawar High Court (PHC) judgment that had upheld the PCTA on the touchstone of the-then article 48 of the 1962 constitution,” Mr Malik said. He also read out the judgment to substantiate his arguments.
During the proceedings the chief justice quoted media reports that said an increase in GST on petroleum products had led to hike in the prices of commodities by 15pc, that too before the advent of Ramazan.
“If the rulers impose taxes on their own, then what’s the need of presenting budgetary proposals before the parliament in the shape of the finance bill,” a judge said.