KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Saturday restrained the National Accountability Bureau from requiring the sales tax record of the supplier of a motorcycle and CNG rickshaw assembling firm.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice Mushir Alam also issued notices to the chairman, director general and deputy director of NAB in a petition of the Memon Motors (Pvt) Limited.

The counsel for the petitioner firm stated that his client was a regular purchaser of cable from the Shah Zubair Engineering for the past nine years.

He said that the NAB deputy director issued on Feb 13 a letter to the supplier’s firm directing it to submit the details of its sales to the petitioner firm and record of the sales tax for a period from July 2006 to 2013.

The counsel submitted that earlier on Feb 6 the respondent had also issued a letter requiring the sales tax record from other firms supplying material to the petitioner.

However, the counsel said, a supplier filed a constitutional petition against the NAB direction and the SHC suspended the operation of the impugned letter.

He submitted that the respondents issued the recent letter to cause harassment to the supplier so that the supply of the material to the petitioner could be stopped.

The counsel stated that the operation of the petitioner’s assembling unit might come to a halt if its supplies were hindered.

He said that a large number of people were employed in the bike and rickshaw assembling units and they would be rendered laid off in case the petitioner firm stopped its operation.

The counsel said that the petitioner firm was regularly paying all taxes and levies, including income and sales taxes, to the Federal Board of Revenue, which was the competent authority to carry out any audit of the petitioner firm every year.

He said that the record of the sales tax required by the respondent NAB deputy director was already available with the FBR and the NAB was not empowered to call details of the sales tax record from the petitioner or its supplier.

The counsel stated that no offence or inquiry under progress was mentioned in the NAB letter as such the respondents had no jurisdiction to inquire the matter which came within the jurisdiction of the FBR.

The petitioner’s counsel prayed to the court to declare that the respondents were not competent to require the sales tax record under the laws. He also prayed to the court to suspend the operation of the NAB letter requiring the sales tax record.

He further prayed to the court to direct the respondent NAB officials not to cause any harassment to any of its suppliers/dealers by issuing letters seeking sales tax record till the final adjudication of the instant petition.

The bench issued notices to the respondents and the NAB prosecutor and put off the hearing to March 7.

In the meantime, the court ordered, “no coercive action to be taken against the petitioner”.

The bench also directed its office to club together the two petitions against the NAB letters.