Tax practitioners have objected to irregularities in appointment of judicial members of the highest tax court of the country. The corporate consultant Tariq Ahmed, tax expert Shahid Pervez Jami and others have pointed out that in August 2018, the FPSC had advertised 10 posts of Member Judicial, Appellate Tribunal Revenue (ATIR). The applicants were recently given extensive written tests. Nine candidates passed the test and the FPSC asked them to provide certain documents by 16th of April 2019 vide letter date 01-04-10.

In the meanwhile, the Ministry of Law and Justice vide letter date 15-03-2019, some 15 days before the announcement of the results by the FPSC have sent a list of 11 persons to the Honourable Chief Justice of Pakistan for approval of appointments as Member Judicial ATIR (8 persons) and Custom Appellate Tribunal (3 persons). The Honourable CJP has granted the approval and the same has been communicated to the ministry vide letter of registrar Supreme Court dated 22-03-19.

They said all the eight persons who are now going to be appointed as Member Judicial ATIR either did not apply to the FPSC or applied but could not qualify for the written test. Similarly, the three persons approved for appointment as Member Judicial, Custom Appellate Tribunal have not passed any tests, etc. It is not known as to on what basis these persons are going to be appointed in BPS-21 as Member Judicial, ATIR or CAT, they added.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019