Summary This order was issued by Justice Shahid Bihar during the hearing of a petition filed by the Azad Kashmir Hotels and Guest Houses Association.
MUZAFFARABAD (Dunya News) - The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) High Court has suspended the Inland Revenue Department’s order for imposing point-of-sale system on hotels and guesthouses and stopped its implementation.
This order was issued by Justice Shahid Bihar during the hearing of a petition filed by the Azad Kashmir Hotels and Guest Houses Association.
Barrister Kamran Ilyas Raja, the petitioners' lawyer, argued before the court that hotels and guesthouses in Azad Kashmir have not yet received industry status, therefore the point of sale system cannot be applied to them.
He argued that the point-of-sale system is primarily for factories, warehouses and businesses where taxable goods are manufactured or sold, while hotels, guesthouses and restaurants are service providers.
The lawyer told the court that the hotel and hospitality sector can be taxed under relevant laws, however, under the income tax and service sector laws, the point of sale system is not applicable to these establishments in Azad Kashmir.
According to the petitioner's lawyer, Barrister Raja Kamran Ilyas, hotels and guesthouses do not manufacture or sell taxable goods but rather provide hospitality and residential facilities, therefore they cannot be classified as industrial or commercial warehouses.
After hearing the initial arguments of the petitioners' counsel, the court suspended the orders of the Inland Revenue Department under which hotels and guesthouses were required to install point of sale system.
Raja Ilyas Khan, Chairman of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Hotels and Guest Houses Association, thanked the court and said that this decision came at a time when the tourism season has begun and after this important decision, hotel and guesthouse owners will focus on their business and pay maximum taxes to the government.
