division bench of the Lahore High Court on Monday dismissed an appeal of the Sharif family challenging recovery of special excise duty from three sugar mills under the recent amendment to Federal Excise Act 2005. Dismissing the appeal, the division bench comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Asad Munir upheld the verdict of the single bench dismissed the Sharif family’s petition that on May 13 against the special excise duty enhanced from one per cent to 2.5 per cent on March 19, 2011, through the Federal Excise (amendment) Ordinance 2011. The division bench observed the excise duty was lawful as it had been imposed through an act of the parliament and could be implemented even without the approval of the president of Pakistan.
