ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday prohibited cellular companies in the country from enforcing additional charges on postpaid accounts.
A three-member bench of the top court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar heard the case.
The additional attorney general asked the apex court for further time in order to submit a response over the matter.
Rs2 billion is being lost each month by the Punjab government due to the additional charges, Advocate General Ahmad Awais informed the court.
The Sindh government is also losing Rs1 billion each month as well, according to the Sindh advocate general.
“If you stop charging commission, these losses can be reduced,” remarked CJP Nisar. He added that the provinces needed to control corruption.
The top judge also criticsed why consumers were being overcharged.
“If you buy Rs100 worth of credit, Rs25 are deducted. What are these service charges?”
“The tax deducted on each call is received by the national exchequer,” answered the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) legal representative.
Federal and provincial governments requested the court to grant them time for submission of response over the matter.
