RAWA LPINDI - Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawalpindi Thursday dismissed 5 various petitions filed by officers of Customs and Excise department challenging the establishment of Inland Revenue Services (IRS). LHC Justice Asad Munir dismissed the petitions declaring that these were not maintainable before the court and the petitioners should move the Federal Services Tribunal instead of filing a constitutional petition before the high court. The petitioners had made Secretary Establishment Division and Chairman FBR as respondents and challenged the establishment of the new tax department saying it was against the rules and regulations to annual a civil service department without proper legislation. Representing the petitioners Barrister Masroor Shah said the department of Customs and Excise was established through an act of Parliament and it could only be revoked through proper legislation. As the government had set up Inland Revenue and finished the department of the petitioners putting the future of the petitioners at stake. He further said the ordinance that set up the new tax collection department did not elaborate on the service structure of the officials of the Customs and Excise. Another lawyer Barrister Gohar Ali maintained that the government had established the new department on the line of Americans but had not provided the ten years transition period as given by the US administration to the official of different tax collection departments. The lawyers also maintained that the customs officers had no experience in sales taxes as they had been serving in the customs and excise for the last 30 years. On the other side the Federal Board of Revenue through its lawyer Hafeez Pirzada had maintained that it was a service matter and the petitioners should have gone to FST instead of invoking constitutional jurisdiction of the high court. A legal officer appearing for FBR stated that all officers of the customs and excise had been given proper legal cover as no relocation of the posts would be done.