The following ordinance made by the President is hereby published for general information :-

WHEREAS it is expedient to amend certain tax laws for the purposes hereinafter appearing;

AND WHEREAS the National Assembly and the Senate stand suspended in pursuance of the Proclamation of Emergency of the Fourteenth day of October, 1999, and the Provisional Constitution Order No. 1 as amended;

AND WHEREAS the President is satisfied that circumstances exists which render it necessary to take immediate action;

NOW, THEREFORE, in pursuance of Proclamation of the fourteenth day of October, 1999, and Provisional Constitution order No. 1 of 1999, as amended, as well as order No. 9 of 1999, and in exercise of all powers enabling him in that behalf, the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is pleased to make and promulgate the following Ordinance:-

1. Short Title and Commencement: 

(1) this ordinance may be called the Tax Laws (Amendments) Ordinance, 1999.

(2) It shall come into force at once except section 3 (amendments of the Wealth Tax Act, 1963) which shall come into force on the first day of July, 2000.

2. Amendment of the Central Excises Act, 1944 (1 of 1994).- 

In the Central Excises Act, 1944 (1 of 1944), in section 2.-

(a) after clause (4A) the following new clause shall be inserted, namely:-"( 4B) 'arrears' means the un-paid amounts of duties, regulatory duty, additional duty, fines, penalties, fees or any other sums, however described, as have been assessed, adjudged or demanded under this Act;

(b) after clause (10) the following new clause shall be inserted, namely:-"( 10A) 'common taxpayer identifier' means the identification number allocated under section 20 of the Finance Act, 1999 (IV of 1999)"; and

(c) after clause (14) the following new clause shall be inserted, namely:-"(14A) 'defaulter' means a person and , in the case of company or firm, every director, or partner of the company, or as the case may be, of the firm, of which he is a director or a partner or a proprietor and includes guarantors or successors, who fail to pay the arrears;"

3. Amendment of the Wealth Tax Act, 1963 (Act XV of 1963).

(a) in section 9, sub-section (5), shall be omitted;

(b) in section 14, in sub-section (1), the provisos and Explanation I shall be omitted;

(c) in section 14A, in the first provisos, for the colon at the end, a full stop shall be substituted and the second proviso shall be omitted;

(d) in section 16, the explanation below sub-section (1), shall be omitted;

(e) in section 17, in sub-section (1),-(i) in clause (b) for the semi-colon, comma shall be substituted and the word "or" at the end, shall be omitted;(ii) clause (c) shall be omitted; or (iii) the words, brackets and letter "or clause (c)" shall be omitted;

(f) in the First Schedule in Part-I, for paragraph A, following shall be substituted, namely,-"A. In the case of every individual, Hindu undivided family, firm, association of persons or body of individuals, whether incorporated or not and a company the Wealth Tax shall be charged on the net wealth at the following rates:-

(i) on the first Rs. 500,000 of net wealth 0.5%

(ii) on the next Rs. 500,000 of net wealth 1%

(iii) on the next Rs. 500,000 of net wealth 1.5%

(iv) on the next Rs. 500,000 of net wealth 2%

(v) on the balance net wealth 2.5%

Provided that-

(a) no tax shall be payable by an assesee on that promotion of his net wealth which does not exceed Rs. 2,500,000;

(b) if any assesee avails of an option under clause (12) of Part I of the Second Schedule to have one house owned and occupied for the purposes of his own residence excluded form his assets, proviso (a) shall not apply;

(c) the tax payable by an assessee shall be set off against unadjusted capital value tax paid by him, if any, during the year ending on the valuation data relevant to the assessment year to which the tax payable relates and in the two years immediately succeeding that year."; and (g) in Second Schedule in Part-I, in clause (12), sub-clause (3) shall be omitted.

4. Amendment of the Customs Act, 1969 (IV of 1969).- 

In the Customs Act, 1969 (IV of 1969), in section 195-B, for the full stop at the end a colon shall be inserted and thereafter the following proviso shall be added, namely:-

" Provided further that an order dispensing with such deposit shall, without effecting the appeal, cease to have effect on the expiration of a period of six months following the day on which it is made unless the appeal is finally decided earlier and nothing in the order dispensing with such deposit which as ceased to have effect shall debar the appropriate officer to recover the amount of the duty demanded or penalty levied."

5. Amendment of the Sales Tax Act, 1990. 

In the Sales Tax Act, 1990,-

(a) in section 2, 

(i) after clause (2), the following new clause shall be inserted, namely:-"(2A) 'arrears' includes the un-paid amounts of tax, additional tax, further tax, extra amount of tax, fines, penalties, fees or any other sums, however described, as have been assessed, adjudged or demanded under this Act,";

(ii) after clause (5) the following new clause shall be inserted, namely:-"(5A) 'common taxpayer identifier' means the identification number allocated under section 20 of the Finance Act, 1999 (IV of 1999)";

(iii) after clause (6) the following new clause shall be inserted, namely:- 

Respective headings of chapter 2 and 3; " and "(6A) 'defaulter' means a person and, in the case of company or firm, every director, or partner of the company, or as the case may be, of the firm, of which he is a director or a partner or a proprietor and includes guarantors or successors, who fail to pay the arrears;".

(b) in section 46, in sub-section (4), for the full stop at the end a colon shall be substituted and thereafter the following proviso shall be added, namely:-" Provided that when any such order amounts to an interim order staying the recovery of tax, such order shall cease to have effect on the expiration of a period of six months following the day on which it is made unless the case finally decided, or the interim order is withdrawn by the Tribunal earlier."; and

(c) after section 72, the following new section shall be added, namely:-" 73. Certain transactions not admissible:- Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act or any other law for the time being in force, any transaction in respect of which payment is made on or after the first day of January, 2000, for a sum exceeding fifty thousand rupees otherwise than by a crossed cheque drawn on a bank or by a crossed bank draft or pay order shall not be admissible for the purposes of input tax credit, adjustment or deduction, or refund, repayment or drawback or zero-rating etc. of tax under this Act."; and

(d) in the Sixth Schedule,

(i) in serial No.3 in column (1), in column (2), after clause (xi) and the entry relating thereto in column (3) the following new clause and entry relating thereto shall be added, namely:-"(xii) poultry and meat of bovine animals, fish and crustaceans whether or not fresh, frozen or otherwise preserved and sold in retail packings or otherwise with or without brand names and trade marks 

(ii) serial No. 52 in column (1) and the entries relating thereto in column (2) and (3) shall be omitted.

6. Amendment of Finance Act, 1999 (IV of 1999).-

In the Finance Act, 1999 (IV of 1999), in section 18,-(a) in sub-section (1), clause (a) and Table 1 shall be omitted; and (b) sub-sections (2) and (3) shall be omitted.

MUHAMMAD RAFIQ TARAR

President