Islamabad, Oct 9: FBR increase taxes on late filers
The Lahore High Court (LHC) has ruled that the increased withholding tax rates for late income tax return filers will not apply to transactions, returns, or assessments finalized before the enactment of the Finance Act 2024.
In this context, the LHC passed a judgment on Tuesday in response to a petition submitted by the Defence Housing Authority.
The court’s ruling mentioned that the petition requests the court to declare that the amendments made to section 100BA, along with Rule 1-A of the Tenth Schedule, introduced through the Finance Act 2024 in the Income Fbr Tax Ordinance 2001, are forward-looking in nature.
The petitioner, a statutory body engaged in developing real estate projects, is required to pay advance or transitional advance taxes as per the Ordinance.
The complaint raised by the petitioner concerns the retroactive application of the new provisions in the Ordinance, which resulted in higher income tax rates under sections 236C and 236K for property transactions due to the new Tenth Schedule.
It was further argued that the new provisions unlawfully impose consequences on transactions that have already been finalized.
The petition was approved, and it was declared that Rule 1-A and its proviso do not have retroactive effect. These provisions will not impact transactions, returns, or assessments completed before the Finance Act 2024 was enacted, the LHC ruling concluded.
