English medium schools: SC stays HC verdict declaring VAT on tuition fees

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Staff Reporter :
The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday stayed a High Court (HC) verdict that declared imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) on tuition fees of English medium schools illegal.
A four-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Surendra Kumar Sinha passed the order after hearing a petition filed by National Board of Revenue (NBR) seeking a stay on the High Court verdict.
The apex court also asked the NBR to file a leave to appeal petition with the court by January 29 against the High Court judgment.
After hearing a writ petition, the High Court on December 12 declared the imposition of
Value-Added Tax (VAT) on tuition fees of English medium schools illegal and directed the authorities concerned to stop collecting VAT from January next year.
The court delivered the judgment on the ground that VAT on English medium education is discriminatory since no VAT was imposed on fees of other institutions, petitioners’ Counsel Shahdeen Malik said to the reporters. Such discrimination is a violation of Article-17 of the Constitution, the counsel said.
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