The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has ordered all private universities in the country to pay a 15% tax.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Borhanuddin passed the order on Tuesday (27 February).
On 6 on April last year, the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court upheld a High Court order asking the National Board of Revenue (NBR) not to collect income tax from private universities in the country.
An eight-member bench of the Appellate Division, led by the then Chief Justice Hasan Foez Siddique, pronounced the judgment dismissing the review petition.
NBR had issued a gazette notification on 28 June, 2007, imposing the 15% income tax on private universities, to be effective from 1 July of that year. Later the NBR imposed the same 15% income tax on private universities, medical, engineering colleges and ICT institutes.
Following this, different universities filed 46 writs challenging the government's decision.
Upon the final hearing on the writs, the High Court on 5 September, 2016 found the notifications illegal, thus ordering the NBR to return the money.
Subsequently, the state pleaded to be allowed to file a leave to appeal with the apex court, which was finally granted on 9 February, 2021.