IHC grants temporary relief to banks

A court of law has temporarily barred the government from collecting an additional tax of up to 15% from banks, as about a dozen financial institutions approached the court to suspend the tax they were liable to pay after failing to meet the mandatory private sector lending targets in the outgoing year 2024. Citing the Pakistan Banks' Association, the global media outlet Bloomberg reported on Thursday "About a dozen banks in Pakistan have secured temporary relief from the Islamabad High Court against a government tax on the lenders if their borrowing to the private sector was lower than the target." The court will hear the case starting December 3, though it is unclear when the final order will be issued. "Until the next date of hearing no coercive action will be taken against the petitioner on the basis of any calculation made by the tax department," according to an order by Judge Babar Sattar on November 13 regarding an application by Meezan Bank Limited, available on the court's website.