In an important development for taxpayers, President Asif Ali Zardari has directed the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to implement a decision already rendered in favour of a taxpayer by an Alternate Dispute Resolution Committee (ADRC). The controversy arose after the ADRC decided the matter on 23 December 2025, but FBR subsequently dissolved the Committee on the ground that the decision had not been rendered within the statutory timeline.
The President observed that the ADRC proceedings had been conducted with the participation and consent of both parties and that FBR had not formally challenged the Committee’s substantive decision. Once the duly constituted forum had decided the dispute, one party could not simply avoid the outcome because the decision had gone against it. The direction therefore requires FBR to give effect to the ADRC’s decision.
The ruling has significance beyond the individual taxpayer involved. ADR is intended to provide taxpayers with a quicker and less adversarial alternative to prolonged tax litigation. If a concluded ADRC decision could subsequently be undone administratively, confidence in the entire mechanism would be undermined. The development therefore strengthens the principle of finality, fairness and institutional credibility in alternative tax dispute resolution.