LAHORE - The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday suspended operation of a notice by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for an audit of JDW Sugar Mills, owned by prominent politician and industrialist Jahangir Tareen. Justice Raheel Kamran passed the orders on a petition filed by the JDW Sugar Mills, challenging FBR’s notice for its audit of the 2015 period, and also issued notice to FBR chairman and others and sought reply. The petitioner’s counsel argued before the court that the mill was a big taxpayer and it regularly paid taxes. He submitted that the FBR’s audit commissioner had on May 21 issued a notice to the mills for an audit of the 2015 period and sought various documents and record. He submitted that as per law, the FBR was not empowered for audit of any business institution after the passage of a five year period. He submitted that the respondent was empowered to hold an audit of the mills for the 2015 period till September 30, 2020 but now the period had expired. He submitted that the notice was not only illegal but also based on malafide. He contended that the notice was in violation of Section 122 and 174 of Tax Ordinance. He pleaded with the court to set aside the notice for being illegal and also suspend its operation till the final decision of the petition. The court, after recording initial arguments, suspended the operation of the notice till further orders. The court also issued notices and sought replies from the FBR chairman and other respondents.