MAULVI ANWARUL HAQ, J. The petitioner, a Public Limited Company registered under the Companies Ordinance, 1984, questions the imposition and recovery of professional (ax by the respondents in terms of the Punjab Finance Act, 1977 as amended from time to time.
2. ' Mr. Omer Adam Khan, Advocate/learned counsel for the petitioner contends that taxes on Corporations being a subject-matter of Federal Legislature as per Item No. 48 of Part-1 of 4th Schedule to the Constitution, the Provincial Government would be having no jurisdiction to impose and recover the said tax. Further contention is that the respondents are levying and collecting the tax on all the offices/operational units of the petitioner- Company in the Province. The learned Addl. A.G., on the other hand, contends that the petitioner squarely falling with the definition of a person under Article 260(1) of the Constitution as also Section 3(39) of the Federal General Clauses Act, 1897 and Section 3(47) of the Provincial General Clauses Act, 1956, subject to the limitation placed in Article 163 of the Constitution, the Provincial Government has the necessary jurisdiction to levy and to recover the said tax. He relies on the case of Province of Punjab through Secretary, Excise and Taxation, Govemment of Punjab and others v. Sargodha textile Mills Ltd., Sargodha and others (PLD 2005 SC 988). Learned counsel for the petitioner rejoins to state that leave to appeal stands granted in some cases by the Hon'ble Supreme Court to consider the said first contention made by him. .3. I have; given some/thought to the respective contentions of the learned counsel and the learned Law Officer. To my mind, the moment, the question does stand answered in the said case of Province of. Punjab v. Sargodha Textile Mills Ltd. I may reproduce here para. 19 of the said judgment appearing at page 999 of the report:-- "19. Both in Pakistan and lndia the companies were made liable to pay the professional tax, by the professional law, in the past as well. Even by the West Pakistan Finance Act, 1964, the companies were made liable to pay the professional tax. Generally speaking, a company is considered to be a body. of persons associated for the purposes of business, lt is a juristic and artificial person created under the provision is of the Companies Ordinance, 1984, possessed with certain legal rights and charged with certain legal duties. The word "person" has been defined in Article 260 of the 1973 Constitution so as "to include any body politic or corporate". The same is the definition of "person" is found in Section 3(47) of the West Pakistan General Glauses Act, f956. Therefore, the companies cannot be considered as falling outside the purview of the provincial law in the matter of imposition/of professional taxes. Article 163 of the Constitution clearly postulates that the professional taxes shall not be considered as a tax on income, lt was with a view to remove the doubt that all the Constitutional dispensations had made it blear that a provincial law imposing professional taxes would riot be regarded as imposing a tax on income."
4. So far as the said second contention of the learned counsel is concerned^ 1he same carries force.
According to the Second Schedule to the Punjab Finance Act, 1977, with reference to Section 3(1) thereof, it is a Company registered under Companies Ordinance, 1984, who is liable to pay the said professional tax in accordance with the formula laid down therein. Under a plain reading of the Item No. 1 of the said Second Schedule alongwith- Section 3(1) of the Punjab Finance Act, 1977, it is only a Company i.e. a single entity as Such, which is liable to pay the said tax in the manner prescribed. There is nothing spelt out in the entire Act on the said Schedule that each and every office or operating unit of the said Company is liable to the levy and payment of the said tax.
5. For what has been discussed above, while holding that Provincial Govemment is competent to levy and recover the professional tax subject to the limitations of maximum amount of tax in accordance with the provisions of the Professional Tax Limitation Act, 1941 read with Article 163 of the Constitution from the petitioner-Company on the time basis in a financial year, it is declared that the petitioner-Company is not liable to pay the said tax for its each and every office or operating units in the Province of Punjab. The writ petition is accordingly "disposed of but without any Orders as to costs.