Over 76,300 Tax-Related Cases Worth Rs. 2.3 Trillion Pending in Pakistan

A meeting of the Upper House Standing Committee on Finance was held under the chairmanship of Senator Saleem Mandviwala at Parliament House today.

The committee was briefed on thousands of tax cases pending in courts of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR). In this connection, Chairman FBR Asim Ahmad apprised the panel that 76,349 cases worth approximately Rs. 2.33 trillion in tax revenue were pending across the country.

Chairman FBR said tax-related litigations totaling Rs. 1.4 trillion are currently pending in various tribunals. Meanwhile, tax cases worth at least Rs. 0.245 trillion are frozen/pending at Islamabad High Court. The apex Islamabad and Lahore High Courts have identified a list of the top 100 major cases worth Rs. 0.150 trillion.

The number of pending cases in various tribunals is 63,600, he apprised the committee members. The FBR chairman emphasized the need for cooperation from all stakeholders, including taxpayers, to help resolve these tax-related issues.

“For the speedy hearing of the cases, I have met the Chief Justice of Lahore and Islamabad High Courts. Both the High Courts have decided to constitute a special bench,” he said, adding that new lawyers are being hired at high fees to clear court cases quickly.

The Senate Standing Committee directed tax cases to be recovered quickly and suggested an out-of-court settlement of all pending tax cases.