ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi has upheld the decision of the Federal Tax Ombudsman (FTO) directing FBR to dispose of the refund application of a private food company after providing it with the opportunity of hearing as per law in a matter where the company had filed refund claims after a delay of 5 to 8 years.
The president gave this decision while rejecting FBR’s representation against the decision of FTO in a case where a private food company had requested the Large Taxpayers Office (LTO), Karachi in 2020 for condonation in delay under the Sales Tax Act, 1990 for filing refund claims relating to the period of 2012 to 2016 as the Sales Tax amount of Rs.88.5 million was not claimed/adjusted in their previous Sales Tax Returns due to some technical issues at the company.
The president in his decision pointed out that as per a Supreme Court’s judgment (PLD 1998 SC 64), a genuine refund could not be refused, even if refund applications were filed late, President Secretariat Press Wing said in a press release on Sunday.
He said that the fundamental rights as enshrined in Article 24 (1) of the Constitution postulated that no person should be compulsorily deprived of his property save in accordance with Law.
The president further said the principle evolved and approved by the judicial pronouncements was that it was the duty of the state to return what had been taken erroneously or wrongly; and that a democratic government could not take a plea of limitation to deny what was due to a citizen.
