LAHORE: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday issued notices to the secretary Revenue Division, chief commissioner IR RTO Hyderabad, deputy collector IR, Enforcement Unit-X as well as deputy attorney general on an application filed by M/s Sattar Cotton Ginning Pressing Factory against SRO no 188 (1)/2015, requiring the petitioner to pay the amount of Rs 6/- per 40 kilogram on all in-house and outside supply of cotton seed.
A two-member bench, comprising justice Munib Akhter and Justice Abdul Malik Gaddi was hearing the application. Earlier the petitioner’s counsel stated that it has been running a ginning factory and oil mills which is seasoned activity and manufacturing cotton lint, cottonseed, oil cake and cottonseed oil and paying all leviable taxes properly.
According to the petitioner, a dispute of payment of Rs 6 / – per 40 kilogram on supply of cotton seed arose when the Secretary Revenue Division issued SRO NO 188 (1)/2015 on 5th March 2015 binding the petitioner to pay the amount of Rs 6 per 40 kilogram on all in-house and outside supply w.e.f 1st July 2014 and onward.
The counsel stated that petitioner is a cotton ginner who purchases raw phutti and after manufacturing process, it obtains two products, one is cotton lint and the other is cottonseed. The sales tax is paid on electricity used in the process of manufacturing in terms of section 7 of the sales tax Act,1990. However, the petitioner is deprived of this right through issuance of thee said SRO, which is illegal and without any jurisdiction. The petitioner prayed to the court to declare the said SRO as unconstitutional and illegal.