The ruling was issued by IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq in response to a writ case that the cellular operator had filed.
The federal government was also served with notice by the court in this regard, and the next hearing on the case is set for May 27, 2024.
The Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) Income Tax General Orders against non-filers and Clause 114-B of the Income Tax Ordinance were both contested in the case.
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According to the petitioner, Article 18 of the Constitution’s fundamental right to commercial independence was breached by the tax regulator’s newly acquired authority.
The petitioner cautioned that if this law were to be put into effect, it would enable the government to deny citizens access to services in other commercial sectors as well.
The news was released the day after the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) and telecom companies reached an agreement to block 5,000 SIM cards each day belonging to non-filers.
According to FBR, telecom companies have already begun notifying non-filers of the possibility of their SIM cards being blocked and will be receiving new lists of non-filers every day.
According to the FBR, tax income will rise if non-filers’ SIMs are blocked.
Moreover, following FBR meetings with the PTA and telecom carriers, the General Order under Income Tax Ordinance 2001, Section 114B, was released. The discussions’ main goal was to move forward with SIM banning non-filers for the 2023 tax year.
“In a statement, Telecom companies stated that there are legal complexities in implementing FBR’s directives,” Sources claimed.
It is pertinent to mention here that Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) issued an income tax general order on April 30, calling the authorities to block the SIM cards of more than 506,000 identified non-compliant taxpayers across the nation