Law: Sales Tax Act, 1990

Section: 45-B,46

  SUMMARY The Lahore High Court, per Muhammad Usman Ghani Rashid Cheema, J., held that under the amended Sections 45-B and 46 of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, introduced through the Finance Act, 2025, a registered person has an independent statutory option to file a direct appeal before the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue against an adverse determination made by an Officer of Inland Revenue, without first approaching the Commissioner (Appeals). The Court held that the second proviso to Section 45-B, read harmoniously with Section 46, cannot be restricted to decisions or orders passed only under the specific provisions enumerated in the main part of Section 45-B. The expressions “decision” and “order” must be given meaningful effect, and the legislative intent behind the amendment was to facilitate and improve the appellate process. The Court also relied upon the earlier Division Bench judgment in Muhammad Hamza Khan v. Commissioner Inland Revenue and others (2026 PTD 895), which recognized the right of a registered person to directly approach the Tribunal even where the impugned order was passed under a provision not listed in Section 45-B. In the present case, the Commissioner’s order dated 27.04.2026, which upheld the charging of Extra Tax and Further Tax on the applicant’s electricity bill due to alleged inactive taxpayer status, constituted a final adverse determination with fiscal consequences and was therefore appealable directly before the Tribunal. The Tribunal had erred in dismissing the appeal in limine on jurisdictional grounds. Accordingly, the Reference Application was allowed, the Tribunal’s order dated 02.07.2026 was set aside, and the appeal was restored for fresh adjudication on merits after providing the parties a meaningful opportunity of hearing. The High Court expressly left open the question whether Extra Tax and Further Tax were lawfully chargeable, directing the Tribunal to decide that issue independently in accordance with law.          JUDGMENT     MUHAMMAD USMAN GHANI RASHID CHEEMA, J.  The controversy before us is not about the legality of the tax…