CAA takes Rs50b tax dispute to SC

As the government continues to struggle in maintaining discipline across its departments, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has approached the Supreme Court of Pakistan in a tax dispute exceeding Rs50 billion against the tax authorities. The CAA, which oversees Pakistan's aviation industry, filed a civil petition for leave to appeal despite the Sindh High Court's directive to resolve the inter-departmental dispute amicably. The Supreme Court is set to hear the appeal on Wednesday, just days before the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) expected a Rs9.5 billion payment from the CAA for advance income tax, according to sources. Previously, the CAA had also challenged the advance tax levy in the Sindh High Court (SHC), which ruled that since the authority is a state-owned enterprise, the appropriate forum for resolving the matter would be the Alternate Dispute Resolution Committee (ADRC) or the federal cabinet, as outlined in Rule 8 of the Rules of Business.