Need for National Tax Court

A proposal in Law Reform Report No 142 of the Law and Justice Commission of Pakistan would create an International Commercial Court as a specialised Federal Superior Court, with draft Article 212A allowing parliament to confer jurisdiction over taxation and other economic matters. Writing in The Express Tribune, an Advocate Supreme Court argues that this clause should instead be used to set up a National Tax Court. The author says tax disputes now travel through two tax tribunals, five High Courts, the Federal Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court.

The column points to recent super-tax rulings as a case in point. In January 2026 the Federal Constitutional Court upheld Sections 4B and 4C of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001, reading Section 4C to reach dividends and other income that has separate charging provisions. In July 2026 the Supreme Court held that corporate dividend income is governed by the specific charge in Section 5, not the residual Section 39. The author also notes the Federal Constitutional Court later struck down Section 7E as a tax on immovable property beyond federal legislative competence.

The writer proposes that the new court absorb the appellate work now split between the Appellate Tribunal Inland Revenue and the Customs Appellate Tribunal, with fact-finding ending there and only substantial questions of law going further. The column argues that a shorter appellate chain would bring certainty, rather than adding another layer of litigation.