LAHORE: The Federa­tion of All Pakistan Universities Academic Staff Association (Fapuasa) has sought immediate intervention from the federal finance minister over what it terms the illegal withdrawal of a 25 per cent tax rebate for full-time teachers and researchers.

In a letter addressed to Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, Fapuasa president Dr Amjad Abbas Magsi and General Secretary Dr Muhammad Uzair expressed deep concern and disappointment at the Federal Board of Revenue’s (FBR) recent directive to revoke the tax relief.

“The directives issued in the middle of the fiscal year are not only illogical but also illegal, as they bypass the decisions of the parliament merely on the interpretation of their own choice,” the letter said.

Recalling that the tax rebate had been officially announced in the last budget and included in the proceedings of the National Assembly and had been part of the income tax manuals of 2022, 2023 and 2024, the association said the FBR’s unilateral action to overturn this rebate directly contradicted the directives of the National Assembly and undermined its authority.

The Fapuasa leadership highlighted the problems of university teachers grappling with severe challenges, including a lack of funding and delayed salaries in many institutions, and appealed to the finance minister to intervene promptly and resolve this matter, which has caused significant unrest among university faculty across the country.

They threatened nationwide protests if the issue was not resolved as soon as possible.

The Higher Education Department had, through a communiqué dated Jan 14, 2025, directed all the vice-chancellors of universities in Punjab to implement the FBR’s directions regarding the disallowance of tax rebates in the SAP system.

The FBR, in a letter to the department on Jan 8, drew attention towards the amendment to the Income Tax Ordinance 2001 through the Finance Act 2022, applicable from tax year 2023.

The act had omitted Clause 2, Part-III of the second schedule of the ordinance that read as: “The tax payable by a full-time teacher or a researcher, employed in a non-profit education or research institution duly recognised by the Higher Education Commission, a board of education or a university recognised by the Higher Education Commission, including government rese­arch institution, shall be reduced by an amount equal to 25pc of tax payable on his income from salary.”

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2025