Lahore High Court: In a petition filed under Article 199 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 (“Constitution”), seeking disclosure of the portions titled “recommendations” and “implications” in the impugned report dated 22 December 2025 concerning the rationalization of the tariff structure for the blanket manufacturing industry, Jawad Hassan, J., granted interim relief and accordingly, issued notice to the respondents for 9 April 2026.
In the present case, the petitioner is engaged in the lawful business of manufacturing blankets and home textile products. It was argued that the petitioner is directly affected by the tariff determinations made by the relevant authorities. The petitioner further submitted that Respondents 3 and 4 are its competitors in the same sector. Both the petitioner and its competitors import blanket fabric, which is then subjected to varying levels of processing before being marketed as finished products. The petitioner also contended that the claim of Respondents 3 and 4 to present themselves before the regulatory authorities as domestic producers or manufacturers of blankets was factually incorrect and misleading.
It was pointed out that Respondents 3 and 4 had filed an application before the NTC under Section 9 of the National Tariff Commission Act, 2015, read with Rule 4 of the National Tariff Commission (Procedure) Rules, 2023, seeking a review and rationalization of the tariff structure applicable to blankets, semi-finished blankets, and the raw materials used in their manufacture, particularly white fabric utilized in blanket production. Pursuant to this application, the NTC issued a notice announcing the initiation of an inquiry into the tariff structure relating to blankets and their raw materials. However, neither the petitioner nor other similarly placed importers were afforded any meaningful opportunity to be heard or to participate in the proceedings.
The petitioner contended that the situation took a disturbing turn when it learned that the NTC had allegedly finalized and issued its inquiry report dated 22 December 2025 concerning the tariff rationalisation exercise. This report was neither published on the NTC’s official website nor supplied to the petitioner. Most alarming fact was that the NTC had allegedly classified the portions of the report containing “recommendations” and “implications” as confidential, thereby withholding them from public disclosure and from stakeholders directly affected by the regulatory measures. The petitioner argued that treating the most consequential parts of the report as confidential was arbitrary, unlawful, and contrary to the principles of transparency and fairness.
The petitioner argued that the actions of the NTC directly violated the fundamental right of access to information, expressly guaranteed to every citizen under Article 19A of the Constitution. It was submitted that matters relating to tariff policy, trade regulation, and industry-wide economic measures are issues of public importance. Therefore, the information and recommendations forming the basis of such decisions could not lawfully be concealed from stakeholders who were likely to be affected by them.
Thus, the Court granted interim relief and accordingly issued notice to the respondents for 9 April 2026.
[Chez Tex (P) Ltd. v. Federation of Pakistan, Writ Petition No. 916 of 2026, decided on 18-3-2026]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
For the Petitioner: Umar Ijaz Gillani, ASC along with Junaid Ahmed, Advocate.
For the Respondents: Hifsa Bukhari, Deputy Attorney General
