Independent Case Scrutiny: Approval before Departmental Higher-Court Proceedings

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Winning before a tribunal does not itself show whether a departmental challenge can proceed. The new scrutiny provisions require approval for specified higher-court proceedings filed by the Commissioner.

Whose filing is screened?

Income-tax section 133A and parallel sales-tax/excise provisions address departmental references, appeals or reviews before the named higher courts. They should not be presented as an extra permission requirement for every taxpayer filing an ordinary appeal.

Committee composition

The framework provides for a retired senior-court judge as chairman, an advocate with at least fifteen years of relevant litigation experience and a senior serving or retired FBR officer of BS-20 or above. A chartered accountant may be co-opted without a vote.

Constitution and limitation

The committee exercises powers from its notified constitution. The provisions also address exclusion of the certified scrutiny period when calculating limitation. Establish the actual notification and procedural dates before alleging that a departmental case is out of time.

Practical file review

Keep the decision, service dates, filing papers and any approval material. Distinguish an objection to approval from the merits of the underlying tax dispute and preserve the applicable response deadline.

Source and scope

Finance Act 2026, official FBR gazette, PDF pages 21-39. Text reviewed on 14 October 2026. This explains the enacted amendment; a notification-dependent procedure must be checked separately before use.