Law: Income Tax Ordinance, 2001

Section: 127,131,133,138(1),161,205,221

 Summary The petitioner, UEP Alpha Limited, challenged the order of the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue (ATIR) dated 07.12.2021, whereby its second rectification application under Section 221 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 was dismissed. The dispute originated from an order passed by the Deputy Commissioner Inland Revenue under Sections 161 and 205 of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 for failure to withhold tax on certain service payments. The petitioner unsuccessfully pursued appeals before the Commissioner Inland Revenue (Appeals) and ATIR. Thereafter, it filed a rectification application before ATIR, which was dismissed on 12.12.2019. Subsequently, the petitioner filed a second rectification application and also filed a tax reference before the Islamabad High Court under Section 133 of the Ordinance, which was later withdrawn. The Islamabad High Court held that the petitioner had attempted to pursue multiple remedies arising from the same proceedings by simultaneously seeking rectification before ATIR and invoking the Court’s reference jurisdiction. The Court observed that once a litigant elects a particular legal remedy, it cannot subsequently pursue another inconsistent remedy regarding the same matter. Applying the doctrine of election, the Court concluded that the petitioner's conduct amounted to an abuse of the legal process and that the writ petition was not maintainable. Consequently, the petition was dismissed.   JUDGMENT SHEET    INAAM AMEEN MINHAS, J.- Through the instant writ petition, the petitioner, UEP Alpha Limited has assailed the order dated 07.12.2021 (“Impugned Order”), passed by the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue (“ATIR”), whereby the petitioner’s second application for the rectification of the order dated 24.04.2019, passed by the ATIR in the appeal, was dismissed primarily on the ground that vide earlier order dated 09.06.2020, it had dismissed the application for interim injunction filed along with the said application for rectification. Brief facts leading to the filing of the instant writ petition are that the DCIR passed an order dated 19.01.2018 under Sections 161…