Press Release
"Chief Justice of Pakistan Launches Initiative to Resolve Longstanding Tax Cases"
Islamabad, November 7, 2024 – A high-level strategic meeting, chaired by Honorable Chief Justice of Pakistan Mr. Justice Yahya Afridi, took place at the Supreme Court of Pakistan in Islamabad. The meeting was attended by top officials of Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), prominent tax experts, industrialists including Chairman FBR, the Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan; and Secretaries of Law and Finance Divisions. The discussion was also attended by the Registrar of the Supreme Court, the Secretary of the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan (LJCP), representatives of the Supreme Court Bar Association, the Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI), the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce & Industry (OICCI) and members from both treasury and opposition political parties Mr Saleem Mandiwalla and Mr. Mohsin Aziz.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Yahya Afridi expressed concern over the adverse effects of delayed tax litigation on judicial efficiency and national revenue. He highlighted the huge backlog of fiscal cases pending before various judicial forums, particularly in the Supreme Court of Pakistan, where 3,496 cases involving revenue of 97 billion rupees are pending for adjudication. Emphasizing the need for realistic actions, Afridi stressed the importance of swift resolution of this huge backlog. He also asked stakeholders to take steps to stop needless fiscal litigation before the Supreme Court, as most fiscal matters need not be challenged at this level. The Chief Justice of Pakistan also emphasized to curtail the practice of prolonging the tax cases through granting unnecessary stays and adjournments.
Chief Justice Yahya Afridi emphasized that resolving the massive backlog of tax cases requires collaborative and unified efforts, stressing that all stakeholders including the government and Bar need to join hands and play an active role in addressing this problem of huge backlog of fiscal cases. The Chief Justice sought active assistance from the Bar and invited recommendations for fixation of tax cases as per the Bar's convenience to achieve the goal of swift resolution of fiscal matters. He also emphasized the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms in fiscal cases.
The LJCP presented a framework for a Resolution Strategy aligned with the global best practices to optimize tax case resolution for fiscal cases. Key components include stakeholders’ engagements, structured measures to enhance the efficacy of tax case resolution on fiscal cases and formation of a high-level committee. The Terms of Reference (ToRs) proposed for the Committee are to evaluate current practices, integrate successful global strategies, employ ADR methods, engage key stakeholders, enhance FBR’s legal capabilities and finalize TORs to guide efficient resolution of tax cases.
As a result, the Chief Justice of Pakistan constituted a committee to drive justice sector reforms for efficient fiscal case resolution which comprised of Mr. Muhammad Salim Khan (Supreme Court Registrar), Tax Experts Asim Zulfiqar Ali and Imtiaz Ahmed Khan, and a senior FBR representative. The committee will receive support from Attorney General Mansoor Usman Awan and Secretary Finance. Mr. Sher Shah Khan (Tax Expert) will serve as committee coordinator. The Committee will make recommendations for justice sector reforms for swift resolution of fiscal cases that would include categorization of fiscal cases, backlog reduction, reduce the time lag from the initial stage of the case to appellate stage.
Chief Justice Afridi's visionary leadership, complemented by LJCP's expert data analysis, is driving transformative change in Pakistan's justice system. The initiative to prioritize fiscal cases promises to bring much-needed efficiency to Pakistan's judicial system, supporting economic growth and effective revenue collection.
This press release can be downloaded from the website of LJCP @ www.ljcp.gov.pk.