Summary Lahore High Court directed the National Tax Council to decide within two weeks which province has jurisdiction to collect sales tax on stock brokerage services.
LAHORE (Muhammad Ashfaq) - The Lahore High Court has directed the National Tax Council to resolve within two weeks a jurisdictional dispute between Punjab and Sindh over the collection of sales tax on stock brokerage services.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Hassan Nawaz Makhdoom and Justice Muhammad Ajmal Zahid heard a petition filed by stock brokerage company Zafar Securities Private Limited concerning the sales tax jurisdiction.
The petitioner’s counsel told the court that the company’s business office is located in Lahore and that it provides stock brokerage services to customers based in Punjab. The company has been paying sales tax on these services to the Punjab Revenue Authority.
The petitioner said the Sindh Revenue Board was also demanding sales tax on the same services, creating a situation of potential double taxation.
Zafar Securities maintained that its stock brokerage services were being provided from its office in Lahore, Punjab, and therefore sales tax should be paid to the Punjab Revenue Authority.
The company further argued that if the Sindh Revenue Board was held competent to collect the tax, the amount already paid to the Punjab Revenue Authority should be transferred to the Sindh Revenue Board.
The petitioner had also approached the National Tax Council, seeking a determination of the jurisdiction between the Punjab and Sindh governments regarding sales tax on the services.
During the hearing, Punjab Revenue Authority counsel Kanwar Haider Ali and Legal Officer Asim Zafar appeared before the court.
The court noted that the petitioner had submitted an application before the relevant forum of the National Tax Council on December 5, 2025.
The Lahore High Court directed the relevant authorities to decide the pending application within two weeks after hearing Zafar Securities and all other concerned parties.
The court ordered that the decision must be made in accordance with law and through a reasoned order, bringing the jurisdictional dispute between Punjab and Sindh over sales tax on stock brokerage services to a determination by the National Tax Council.
