Dawn
-
03:26 Jan 29, 2026
ISLAMABAD: Disposing of a batch of appeals, petitions and transfer cases, the Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has upheld the vires of the super tax, holding that Sections 4B and 4C of the Income Tax Ordinance (ITO) 2001 are neither discriminatory nor violative of fundamental rights. In a judgement pronounced on Jan 27 and uploaded on Wednesday, the FCC ruled that Section 4B does not create any unreasonable or hostile classification among persons forming the same class. The court held that parliament was fully competent to impose, abolish, remit, alter or regulate such taxes through a Finance Act as part of a Money Bill under Article 73(2)(a) of the Constitution. The court observed that the classification introduced under Section 4B is income-based, rests on an intelligible differentia and bears a rational nexus with the object sought to be achieved. The provision, it said, suffers from no lack of legislative competence and does not, on its face, transgress any fundamental right warranting judicial invalida...