KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) has issued notices to the secretary Revenue Division, Member (Customs operations) FBR, collector Preventive, Air Freight Unit (AFU) and deputy attorney general, directing them to file their respective comments on a petition filed by M/s Advance Telecom against wrong categorization of mobile phones for sales tax. A two-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Sajjad Ali Shah heard the petition.
Earlier, the petitioner’s counsel stated that petitioner imported two consignments of Huawei brand mobile phones (1508 units of U31 model and 93 units of U32 model ) having 8-megapixel rear camera and 2-megapixel back camera. The petitioner added that it filed goods declaration on April 16, 2016 and May 6, 2016, respectively and discharged its liability as to sales tax in terms of category “C”.
According to the petitioner, however, the respondents are insisting on assessment in category “B” to increase leviablity of sales tax from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 per unit.
The petitioner argued that, 10-megapixel cameras are duly concerned in category “B” and without prejudicial to the petitioner’s contention, 8-megapixel rear camera and 2-megapixel front camera cannot be deemed to constitute a 10 megapixel camera.
The petitioner pleaded that SHC to declare that the megapixel capacity of two cameras in a mobile phone cannot added together for the purpose of categorization.