The Federal Constitutional Court, in an important decision regarding tax raids, has ruled that tax authorities can conduct raids at any time and in any place without prior notice.Justice Amir Farooq issued the decision on the appeal regarding tax raids in the Federal Constitutional Court, which said that it is not necessary for there to be a case against the taxpayer in advance for a raid. In its decision, the Federal Constitutional Court rejected the argument of declaring raids without a case as illegal. The decision stated that Parliament has given tax authorities wide powers to implement the law and the court cannot include any condition in the law that the legislature has not written. The court ruled that where the language of the legislature is clear and unambiguous, the courts are not authorized to modify, reduce or create contradiction in it. According to the decision, the commissioner must state in writing the violation of which law the raid is being conducted for, while tax authorities have full authority to seize computers, documents and accounts. Later, the Federal Constitutional Court upheld the Sindh High Court’s decision and rejected the appeal.
Federal Constitutional Court allows tax authorities to conduct raids without notice
