LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday disposed of a petition filed by the PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif’s sugar mills challenging a tax audit notice of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
“The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) have no powers to conduct an audit of the five-year-old accounts,” the petition argued and pleaded with the high court to declare the audit notice void and restrain the tax body from taking any punitive action against the mills.
A bench of the high court directed the petitioner, Ramzan Sugar Mills, to approach the relevant forum for the redressal of grievances. The court questioned the firm on moving the high court before approaching the relevant Inland Revenue tribunal to have its grievance redressed.
On June 11, the Lahore High Court (LHC) had dismissed a similar petition challenging the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) audit notice issued to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) estranged leader Jahangir Tareen’s sugar mills.
The petition stated that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) sent a notice for conducting an audit of the mills’ accounts on May 21. The record and documents regarding income tax have been sought by the board, it added.
Interim bail of Shehbaz Sharif and Hamza Shehbaz granted till July 10
A sessions court on Monday approved the pre-arrest bail of Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif and Opposition Leader in Punjab Assembly Hamza Shehbaz before their FIA appearance in the Ramzan Sugar Mills case till July 10.
Shahbaz Sharif was summoned yesterday while Hamza Shahbaz was summoned by the FIA on June 24.
The court ordered against the arrest of the father-son duo before July 10 and directed them to submit two surety bonds with each amounting to Rs1 million.
Sources informed that Shehbaz Sharif has been asked to turn up at the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Lahore office on June 22. The subpoena warned the PML-N President of legal action, including his possible arrest, in case he fails to show up.
Petitioner Shahbaz Sharif requested that interim bail be granted as he wanted to be investigated in the FIA case.