A Peshawar High Court bench on Thursday barred Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) to collect sales tax from Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (Pata), namely Malakand, Dir, Shangla, Kohistan, Buner, Batagram and Dara Adam Khel.

A two-member bench comprising Peshawar High Court Chief Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Ayub Khan passed the order while hearing a case filed by a resident of Malakand division seeking the suspension of FBR's tax collection from Pata.

The petitioner argued that that the FBR collects 17 per cent sales tax on the products of steel and ghee produced in mills located in Pata, saying that there are no laws regarding tax collection in Pata, therefore the collection is illegal.

After hearing the arguments of the petitioner, the bench ordered the FBR to stop tax collection in Pata.