The Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) has retracted its statement declaring withholding tax on financial transactions “un-Islamic”, saying that council members “left the meeting when food was served and the staff thought that withholding tax was declared against Sharia.”
The CII made the decision at its 243rd meeting on Wednesday, presided over by CII Chairman Allama Dr Muhammad Raghib Hussain Naeemi, the press release read, adding, “The council declared the withholding tax imposed on withdrawal or transfer of money as excessive and declared it un-Islamic.”
Speaking to a private media outlet later on the same day, the CII chairman claimed that the note-taking staff misunderstood that withholding tax had been declared un-Islamic, noting that the CII would discuss matters related to withholding tax in its next meeting.
“Several members of the council were against the withholding tax,” Dr Naeemi added.
“Regarding today’s meeting of the CII, there was an impression that the council had formed a final opinion on the withholding tax, whereas in fact, a few members had an initial discussion on it, in which the members had different opinions. The members said that they would consult experts on this in the next meeting,” read a clarification issued by the CII.
It further read, “Therefore, it was decided that in the upcoming meeting of the council, it should be discussed in detail and the opinions of the relevant experts should be sought. The council did not take any decision on the issue under discussion.”
It merits a mention that the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) describes “withholding tax” as an advance payment of tax deducted at the time of economic activities specified under certain sections of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001 and Sales Tax Act, 1990.
Regarding the establishment of human milk banks in the country, the CII stated that such storage facilities can be formed under certain conditions, adding that necessary legislation on the matter must come first to prevent evil.
In June 2024, Pakistan’s first Human Milk Bank and Early Childhood Centre was established at the Sindh Institute of Child Health and Neonatology (SICHN) in Karachi.
The initiative, however, was suspended just weeks later after the issuance of a fatwa (Islamic decree).