*LAHORE – The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday disposed of a petitionfiled by PML-N Vice President Maryam Nawaz Sharif challenging a notice bythe Inland Revenue department of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) forrecovery of income support levy.*

Justice Abid Aziz Sheikh of the high court directed former prime ministerNawaz Sharif’s daughter to file an appeal challenging a single bench’sverdict in this regard.

Maryam’s lawyer contended before the court that the recovery of incomesupport levy is violation of the country’s Constitution. It is up to theprovincial social welfare department to work towards the welfare of thepublic and that the Inland Revenue department lacked authority to imposeand recover a tax in the name of social protection after the passage of the18th Constitutional Amendment, he added.

The counsel said his client has been asked to pay income support levy onher assets worth more than Rs317 million and demanded that the impugnednotice be declared illegal and unlawful.

It is noteworthy that Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly HamzaShahbaz has also challenged a notice issued to him for recovery of incomesupport levy.

The PML-N leader through his counsel had contended that the tax is anamount recovered by the government to meet its public welfare targets.Social welfare is a provincial subject under the 18th Amendment of theconstitution, he added.