Tax law: NA body says govt has bypassed Parliament
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance on Friday categorically conveyed to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) that the government has bypassed Parliament for promulgating Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, and urgently communicated ordinance to the FBR's field formations for recovery from taxpayers.
The National Assembly Standing Committee on Finance discussed the situation arising from the Promulgation of Ordinance No IV/2025 with particular reference to concerns of stakeholders and trade bodies.
Chairman of the committee MNA Syed Naveed Qamar expressed serious concern that it is abuse of power to promulgate an ordinance for recovery from taxpayers without giving them right of appeal. FBR Chairman Rashid Mahmood responded that there is no abuse of power through promulgation of this ordinance. The ordinance has been cleared from the federal cabinet as well as the president of Pakistan.
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The chairman of the committee directed the Law and Justice Division to immediately table the ordinance before the parliament for urgent action on this legislation.
'The government has urgency to promulgate the ordinance instead of making it part of the Finance Bill (2025-26). We have also same urgency to review the ordinance,' he added.
The representative from the Ministry of Law and Justice informed the committee that the ordinance would be presented as a bill in the current National Assembly session, which would subsequently, be referred to the committee for consideration and report.
The committee chairman questioned, what was the urgency to take these recovery measures through ordinance. The representative of the Law Division stated that there was an urgency but he failed to explain the urgency of the government.
The committee deliberated on the urgency and rationale behind the ordinance while expressing concerns over its potential impact on various sectors across the country. Members emphasised that amendments to the law must be carefully evaluated to avoid unintended consequences on other categories.
Naveed Qamar stated that the FBR has no answer to convince the committee about the urgency for promulgating this ordinance.
'We are waiting for the Ordinance to come to us in the form of a bill and we will question and securitise this ordinance,' Qamar said.
The FBR chairman requested the committee that the ordinance is promulgated for a limited time period and the committee should give them 1-2 months to see the operations of the ordinance.
The amendments in tax laws could have been passed through Finance Bill (2025-26), but you have shown urgency, the chairman committee responded.
MNA Mirza Ikhtiar Baig stated that the Ordinance is totally contradictory to the FBR's commitment of business friendly environment. The trade bodies including Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) has strongly agitated against the said ordinance.
The committee members also raised question about the repercussions of the Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 on judiciary.
At one stage, the FBR chairman stated that it is the prerogative of the legislator to reject this legislation.
The FBR chairman explained that the FBR only wants to implement the orders of the High Courts. This ordinance introduces only three carefully scoped amendments, addressing urgent legal, administrative, and enforcement gaps in the tax system.
Although the courts are now resolving cases promptly, a procedural lacuna in the law previously allowed taxpayers a 30-day delay in making payments on confirmed demands—even when the matter had been conclusively decided by the apex courts. As a result, billions in confirmed revenue remained unrealised despite clear court verdicts. The amendment through Sections 138(3A) and 140(6A) seeks to curtail this delay and allow for swift implementation of final judgments issued by the Supreme Court and High Courts, the FBR chairman added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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