LAHORE- A Lahore High Court division bench ordered for submission of the written arguments till February 7 on the 52 identical petitions filed by the Sharif family and its industrial units in year 1995 challenging ‘incorrect’ assessment of their income tax.
Mian Nawaz Sharif and his wife Kalsoom Nawaz, Mian Shahbaz Sharif and his wife filed the appeals. The Sharif family was accused of evading tax of Rs650 million during years 1990 to 2000.
Petitioners’ counsel Tariq Aziz Malik submitted that in Nawaz Sharif case, the tax department never disclosed as to what amount of tax was due on him as it dispatched a vague notice which did not have legal sanctity.
He said the order of income tax commissioner was repugnant and inconsistent with section 3 & 4 of Wealth Tax Act 1963 which states that no penalty or additional tax can be imposed during the pendency of appeal.
He said Kalsoom Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif had paid the income tax during the stipulated time and no objection was raised at that time. He said that the notices were issued to petitioners after year 2000 and the objection about the tax assessment was raised after the normal 60 days required period.
He submitted that the re-opening of the case was illegal, as the tax department has already accepted the tax. He said the show-cause notice was not issued to the petitioners, which was necessary before taking any action.
He pleaded that the step of the sales department was contravention of the section 10, 34 and 46 of the Sales Tax Act 1990. He said that the notice was violation of the section 177 of Income Tax Ordinance, and requested the court to declare the assessment made by the department after such a delay as illegal.