The battle of tax collection between Jazz and FBR continues as they contest for Rs.25 billion amount in total.
By Sayyed Shehzer Abbas
Islamabad High Court (IHC) has directed Jazz to deposit Rs. 5 billion to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), which would be conditional in nature and maybe returned to Jazz or adjusted if case is decided in favor of Jazz.
According to the official order by the court, out of total Rs.25 billion in alleged tax liability, IHC has directed the company to deposit Rs. 5 billion tax within the next three days.
FBR sealed Jazz HQ last Wednesday over a tax dispute of PKR Billion. This tax demand from FBR is not related to general sales tax, with-holding tax or any other tax collected from its customers. It is related to internal reorganization of business by the company. Jazz carved out its towers business in its wholly owned subsidiary “Deodar” through a non-cash transaction in 2017.
Tax authorities claimed PKR 22 billion corporate income tax for this internal transaction, which was challenged by Jazz. The latest demand from FBR of PKR 22 billion plus 3 billion surcharges, to be paid in a few hours’ time, was totally unacceptable by the company.
While the matter is sub-judice in the honorable High Court, FBR resorting to such drastic measures has tarnished company’s reputation and shaken investor’s confidence in our beloved country Pakistan.
Adeel Asad, Director Career and International Business Jazz, claims that Jazz is fully compliant with all its tax obligations and has contributed over PKR 369 Billion in taxes, license renewals, regulatory dues and duties during the last six years and has been the recipient of multiple highest taxpayer awards by FBR, PRA, and KPRA over the years.