ISLAMABAD: A staggering backlog of more than 50,000 tax and customs-related cases worth approximately Rs 5,700 billion is currently pending in various courts and tribunals across the country, leaving a significant amount of national revenue tied up in legal disputes.
Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), a total of 50,732 cases are under litigation in different forums involving tax and customs matters.
The highest number of pending cases, 27,621, are being heard in appellate tribunals, with a cumulative value of Rs 3,383 billion.
Sources further revealed that 2,155 cases worth Rs 58.30 billion are pending before Collector Adjudication, while 322 cases involving Rs 46.30 billion are under consideration with Collector Appeals.
In the Supreme Court, 3,961 tax and customs cases involving Rs 184 billion are pending. Meanwhile, the Lahore High Court is hearing 8,232 cases worth Rs 977 billion, and the Sindh High Court is dealing with 5,521 cases involving Rs 558 billion.
Similarly, the Islamabad High Court is hearing 2,210 cases worth Rs 492 billion, while the Peshawar High Court has 528 cases worth Rs 28 billion pending. The Balochistan High Court is handling 186 cases involving Rs 8 billion.
The massive backlog highlights that a significant portion of the national exchequer remains locked in prolonged legal disputes across multiple judicial forums.
