Law: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Medical Teaching Institutions Reforms Act, 2015 ("MTI Act")

Section: 3

Law: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Act 1990

Section: 7, 10

Law: Constitution of Pakistan, 1973

Section: 163

REMARKS.

Section 7 of Act No. IV of 1990 imposes liability on individuals engaged in various professions, trades, callings, or employments, at the rate specified by the Provincial Assembly in Appendix-II. However, the Act itself does not provide a mechanism for the assessment or recovery of professional tax. Section 10 of the Act clearly mandates that the provincial government must establish rules for the assessment and collection of professional tax. It is important to note that the determination of the tax slab has been fixed by the Provincial Legislature, and this authority has not been delegated to the provincial government. Section 7 of Act No. IV of 1990 expressly delineates the imposition of professional tax across four specified categories of individuals engaged in professions, trades, callings, or employments, with the tax slabs determined directly by the legislature. The Provincial Government, empowered under the Act, has framed Rule 10 to regulate the method of tax collection. Considering the principles enunciated in Pearl Continental Hotel and Shahtaj Sugar Mills Ltd., Rule 10 neither causes any prejudice to the petitioners nor constitutes an excessive delegation of legislative authority. Therefore, the Rules are unequivocally intra vires. Doctors belong to a highly skilled and trained profession. Professional tax, distinct from income tax, is levied based on one\'s professional expertise and ability to earn in a specific field. Unlike income tax, professional tax is not dependent on an individual\'s earnings but rather on the nature of their chosen profession. Therefore, under Section 7 of the Finance Act, 1990, and the procedural mechanisms in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Professions, Trade, and Callings Tax Rules, 1991, doctors are rightly classified as professionals subject to taxation based on their paid occupation within the ambit of \"profession.\"