Law: Sales Tax Act, 1990

Section: 3,21,25,33,34,38,38A,38B,45A

Law: Sales Tax Rules, 2006

Section: 12(b)(i)

Law: Constitution of Pakistan, 1973

Section: 199

1. SALES TAX ACT, 1990 (VII OF 1990) Section: 21, 25 & 38 - Sales Tax Rules, 2006, Rule: 12(b)(iii) - Constitution of Pakistan 1973, Art. 199 - Constitutional petition - Access to record, documents etc Notice u/s 38 relating to have access to premises, stocks, accounts and record - Subsequent, notice u/s 21 of the Act for suspension of Sales Tax registration - Scope - It is contended by the Counsel for the petitioners that section 38 cannot be invoked independently and can only be triggered after the procedural formalities of provisions of section 25 of Act, 1990 - Counsel for the respondents controverted position taken by the counsel for the petitioners and retorted that submissions made by the counsel for petitioners runs counter to the mandate of section 38 and interpretation sought to be put on section 38 will render the provisions of section 38 as superfluous and without purpose - Validity - A common thread which runs through these petitions as regards the challenge by the counsel for the petitioners is - Whether notices u/s 38 of Sales Tax Act, 1990 can be issued to registered persons (petitioners) without recourse to provisions of section 25 of Act, 1990. (A) Since the constitutionality and vires of section 38 is not under challenge, it must be a pre-conceived notion that the provisions of section 38 are intra vires and valid for all intents and purposes. (I) The powers of the authorized officer under section 38 are simply to inspect the goods, stocks, records, data, documents, correspondence and any other record or documents kept by a person in the course of his business and for this purpose, the authorized officer shall have free access to business or manufacturing premises, registered office or any other place where any stocks, business records or documents are kept or maintained. Therefore, the power is only limited to inspection of such record as also taking that into custody in original or in the from of copies. No other power is contemplated by section 38 to vest in the authorized officer. The person whose premises are sought to be inspected, is in turn, required to provide free access to the authorized officer and in case he fails to do so,…