FBR forms three ICSCs to reduce tax litigations

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Friday constituted three Independent Case Scrutiny Committees (ICSCs) with immediate effect to end frivolous litigation with taxpayers and ensure consistency in decisions relating to appeals and references before superior courts. According to an office order issued by the FBR’s Legal Wing on Friday, the committees have been constituted under Section 133A of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, Section 47AAA of the Sales Tax Act, 1990, and Section 34AA of the Federal Excise Act, 2005, along with the relevant rules framed thereunder. The FBR has established three regional committees covering Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi jurisdictions. The Islamabad Committee will be headed by former Justice Athar Saeed, with Barrister Saad Buttar and Dr Muhammad Iqbal, Former Member Inland Revenue Policy, FBR, serving as members. The committee will oversee litigation matters relating to Large Taxpayer Office (LTO) Islamabad, RTO Islamabad, RTO Peshawar, RTO Abbottabad and the Directorate General of Intelligence and Investigation (DG I&I), Islamabad. The Lahore Committee will be chaired by former Justice Khawaja Farooq Saeed, while Mirza Nasar, Advocate Supreme Court, and former FBR Member Shahid Hussain Asad have been appointed as members. Its jurisdiction extends over LTO Lahore, LTO Multan, CTO Lahore and Regional Tax Offices in Lahore-I, Lahore-II, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, Bahawalpur, Sialkot, Sargodha and Sahiwal. The Karachi Committee will be headed by former Justice Maqbool Baqir. Its members include Munawar Ali Memon and former FBR Member Seema Shakil, . The committee will deal with cases falling under LTO Karachi, CTO-I Karachi, CTO-II Karachi, RTO-I Karachi, RTO-II Karachi, RTO Sukkur, RTO Hyderabad and RTO Quetta. Under the office order, the committees will examine tax cases and recommend whether references should be filed before the High Courts or petitions and review petitions before the Supreme Court or the Federal Constitutional Court. They will also periodically review pending litigation to determine whether continuation of legal proceedings is warranted in the interest of revenue. In addition, the committees have been assigned the responsibility of maintaining a database of settled legal issues and judicial precedents to promote consistency in future litigation. They will also identify systemic legal and administrative issues requiring legislative or policy intervention and submit appropriate recommendations to the FBR. The FBR said that the terms and conditions governing the engagement of chairpersons and members, remuneration, meetings, decision-making and disposal of official assignments will be regulated under the relevant provisions of the Income Tax Ordinance, Sales Tax Act, Federal Excise Act and corresponding rules. The office order has been issued with the approval of the competent authority and has taken immediate effect. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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