Appellate Division extends stay on income tax for private varsities

Staff Reporter  :
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court on Thursday asked to expeditiously dispose of the writ petitions filed challenging the government decision imposing 15 percent income tax on the private educational institutions including private universities and private medical, dental and engineering colleges.
A eight-member bench of the Appellate Division of the SC headed by Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique passed the order after dismissing a petition filed by the private universities seeking a review of the apex court’s previous order in this regard.
Private universities don’t need to pay income tax following the latest apex court order, said the lawyers who appeared in the hearing on behalf of the writ petitioners, while the state lawyer claimed that private universities will have to pay it at the rate of 15 percent.
Attorney General AM Amin Uddin and Additional Attorney General Sheikh Mohammad Morshed appeared for the state, while lawyers AF Hasan Ariff, Omar Sadat and Mohammad Sakhawat Hossain appeared for the private universities during the hearing.
Following 46 separate writ petitions filed by the private universities the HC on September 5, 2016 declared illegal the government orders that imposed 15 percent income tax on the private educational institutions.
The HC also scrapped the three statutory regulatory orders for tax imposition issued by the government in 2007 and 2010 imposing 15 percent income tax on private universities and private medical, dental and engineering colleges.
On September 7 of the same year, the chamber judge of the Appellate Division,
following a government petition, stayed a part of the HC verdict that scrapped government orders imposing 15 percent income tax on private institutions.
The chamber judge also halted the HC directive that asked the NBR to refund the money collected from the institutions from 2007 as income tax under the statutory regulatory orders issued by the governments in 2007 and 2010.
On February 9 in 2021, the Appellate Division vacated its chamber judge’s directives. It also directed the National Board of Revenue not to demand and collect any income tax from the private universities across the country until further orders.
Later on June 30 in 2021, the government again imposed 15 percent income tax on the private universities. Then private universities filed 13 writ petitions. Following the petitions the HC issue a rule on September 27 in 2021.
In the rule the HC wanted to know as to why the gazette imposing 15 percent income tax on the private universities should not be declared illegal. It also stayed the gazette saying that it was violation of apex court order passed on February 9 in 2021.
On November 21 in 2021 the apex court said that the 13 writ petitions have no connection with the order of February 9. Therefore, the High Court Division was directed to dispose of these writ petitions without citing the precedent of the previous order of the apex court (February 9, 2021).
Later a petition was filed seeking review of the SC order that asked not to cite the precedent of the previous order of the apex court, which was dismissed on Thursday.
After the order Attorney General AM Amin Uddin said, “Private universities have to pay the income tax, since the apex court ruled that the 13 writ petitions have no connection with the previous SC order.”
On the other hand lawyer Omar Sadat said the decision taken by the government on June 30 in 2021 was also stayed by the HC on September 27 on the same year. Private universities don’t need to pay the income tax, since the apex court didn’t stay the HC order, added the lawyer.