The Supreme Court on Thursday extended the suspension period of the exorbitant tax collected on prepaid mobile cards until further notice.
During the hearing of a suo motu case of tax imposed prepaid calling cards, a three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar directed the government to suspend tax on mobile cards until further notice.
Taking notice of the excessive tax deductions on prepaid cards, the SC had sought replies from telecommunication companies and the attorney general of Pakistan. In a subsequent hearing, the bench demanded a clarification on whether withholding taxes were being collected as per law.
“The law for withholding taxes appears to be imperfect,” the top judge had remarked. “Withholding taxes cannot be levied on a labourer who earns Rs 100 a day. How can we collect withholding taxes from daily wage earners?” he added. On June 11, the apex court had suspended tax for a period of 10 days.
Published in Daily Times, July 6th 2018.
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