Islamabad (Pakistan News) The Federal Constitutional Court has declared the collection of an additional 4% tax from poultry feed mills illegal and issued an important judgment in the case.
A two-member bench headed by Justice Amir Farooq heard the case and ruled that ambiguity exists in Section 31A of the tax law.
According to the verdict, the government had imposed an additional tax on feed supplied to unregistered poultry farms by mill owners, which was being collected under the Finance Act 2024.
The court stated that under the law, poultry farms are exempt from tax, and after this exemption, registration requirements cannot be made mandatory. It added that when the law itself does not impose a registration condition, poultry farms and feed mills cannot be subjected to penalties or additional taxes.
The Federal Constitutional Court annulled the Lahore High Court’s decision, which had upheld the collection of the additional tax. Poultry feed mill owners had approached the court against the tax, after which this verdict was issued.