Islamabad, Sep 19: Tax cases amounting to Rs. 3.76 trillion are currently pending across various judicial platforms, including the Supreme Court, High Courts, and Appellate Tribunals, according to sources from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
This backlog has significantly hampered the FBR’s ability to recover these funds, with the volume of unresolved cases steadily increasing over recent years.
In Appellate Tribunals alone, pending cases have surged from Rs. 1.46 trillion to Rs. 2.235 trillion. As of June 2024, Rs. 105 billion remains tied up in 3,450 cases pending before the Supreme Court. Other courts are also dealing with a large number of unresolved tax disputes:
- Islamabad High Court: 780 cases worth Rs. 160 billion.
- Sindh High Court: Cases worth Rs. 390 billion.
- Lahore High Court: 4,670 cases involving Rs. 180 billion.
- Peshawar High Court: 400 cases amounting to Rs. 8 billion.
- Balochistan High Court: 23 cases.
In total, nearly 9,500 tax cases worth Rs. 750 billion are stuck in various High Courts. Additionally, there are 71,300 cases worth Rs. 2.23 trillion awaiting resolution in the Appellate Tribunals.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has emphasized the need for the FBR to expedite the resolution of these cases to enhance revenue recovery.
