ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - A large number of tax-related cases remain pending in courts and appellate tribunals across Pakistan, involving a total of over Rs 5,457 billion in disputed revenue.
According to sources, the volume of pending tax litigation has increased by more than 30 percent over the past two years, rising from Rs 3,760 billion to Rs 5,457 billion.
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has so far been unable to recover the amount stuck in these cases.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has expressed concern over the delay in tax-related cases in courts and appellate tribunals and has sought a report from relevant authorities on a mechanism for early hearings.
Documents show that tax cases worth Rs 3,330 billion are pending in appellate tribunals alone. In the Supreme Court, 3,277 cases involving over Rs 169 billion remain unresolved.
In the Islamabad High Court, 1,979 cases involving Rs 482 billion are pending, while the Lahore High Court has the highest number of cases, with 7,490 cases involving Rs 963 billion.
Similarly, the Sindh High Court has 2,081 cases worth Rs 480 billion pending, the Peshawar High Court has 241 cases involving Rs 27 billion, and the Balochistan High Court has 37 cases involving Rs 6 billion.
Overall data shows that 11,938 tax cases worth approximately Rs 1,958 billion are pending in various courts, while appellate tribunals alone are handling 21,700 cases involving over Rs 3,330 billion.