Federal Constitutional Court upholds super tax

In a landmark ruling, the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) on Tuesday upheld the super tax, accepting the authority of parliament to legislate on imposing taxes.
The court delivered its verdict in the long-running super tax case, restoring Section 4-B of the Income Tax Ordinance (ITO) and dismissing objections to the maintainability of the petitions.
A three-member bench of the Federal Constitutional Court, headed by Chief Justice Aminuddin Khan, heard the super tax case and rejected objections to the maintainability of the petitions, while restoring Section 4-B of the ITO with effect from 2015.
According to the judgement, Section 4-B of the ITO will remain in force from 2015, and parliament has the authority to impose a levy through legislation.
“The objections raised on the maintainability of the case are rejected,” the court ruled. The FCC further held that parliament was fully empowered to impose a tax.
The court also observed that high courts had erred in declaring the super tax discriminatory. “The decisions of the high courts declaring the super tax discriminatory were not correct,” the order read, adding that “Sections 4-B and 4-C relating to the imposition of super tax are in accordance with the law.”
The court also ruled that the super tax would not apply to modarabas, mutual funds and benevolent funds.
In its order, the court said the oil and gas sector could seek individual relief. “Oil and gas companies may approach the relevant tax commissioner for individual relief,” the court ruled.