According to a report published by the Tribune, of which the chief justice took note, approximately 80 per cent of the FBR's tax revenue claims were pending in appellate tribunals, collector commissioners, or other internal FBR forums. Until January 25, a reported 90,426 tax cases were pending, representing Rs.3,303,740 million in revenue claims.
Of these claims, Rs2,556 billion tax claims were pending at appellate tribunals and collector commissioners, while another Rs410 billion of tax revenue claims are stuck in superior courts, including nearly 3,000 cases in the apex court worth Rs72.208 billion in tax revenue.
Regarding customs cases, a total of 17,642 cases were pending worth Rs273.67 billion in tax duty to be claimed by the department.
In addition to the Supreme Court, the report was also presented before Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah on February 22. Federal Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Jawed Khan, and chairmen of the FBR, Competition Commission of Pakistan and Oil and Gas Regulatory Authority were also in attendance.
Pakistan has been under pressure by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to raise tax revenue collection. Earlier this year, the IMF approved a $1 billion disbursement to Pakistan after the country passed its sixth review of reforms under its $6 billion loan program.