ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial on Friday brushed aside speculations that the country was on the brink of default, saying Pakistan will never default and government should take stringent measures to stop smuggling of foreign currency to the tune of 40 million dollars on a daily basis to other countries.
He remarked that everyone should improve one’s behaviour for the good of the country.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial made the observation while heading a three-member bench comprising Justice Ayesha A Malik and Justice Athar Minallah, hearing the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) petition, challenging the Lahore High Court (LHC) order whereby it has suspended collection of Super Tax from large scale industries. The government had imposed a one-time ten percent tax on industries’ profits to ease the impact of the rising inflation on the poor.
A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial heard the case.
At the outset of the hearing, the FBR lawyer told the court that the final decision of the Lahore High Court was announced. Faisal Siddique, the counsel for FBR, said that the LHC had suspended the implementation of the order till the final decision in the case. He said that the apex court often asked the companies to submit 50% of the payment in tax cases.
However, the companies lawyer Ferogh Naseem contended that after the release of the final decision of the high court in the case, the FBR petitions had become ineffective. The court could not order for the imposition of 50% super tax after the petitions were rendered ineffective, he maintained.
On the occasion, CJP Bandial suggested fixing the cases hearing next week, saying that the FBR came to the court in the super tax matter with good intention. He remarked that the FBR imposed the Super Tax in good faith.
He said that it was also known that Shell Pakistan, one of the petitioners, paid taxes in the millions of rupees. Faisal
The Chief Justice said that the country was not going bankrupt. Everyone needs to improve themselves in the better interest of the country, he added. He said that four million dollars were going out of Pakistan illegally every day. “We just need to get organized and take action,” he added.
He said that the situation could improve if the government took steps to stop the smuggling of foreign currency to the tune of 40 million dollars to other countries.
Siddique said that today he was representing the FBR but if Pakistan defaulted, he would be representing the federation.
Later, the court adjourned the case till Feb 16.
