Pakistan, June 4 -- The Federal Constitutional Court of Pakistan on Wednesday observed that the government could levy royalty only on minerals and that imposing royalty on a finished product appeared, prima facie, to be equivalent to a tax. A three-member bench headed by Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi heard a case relating to the imposition of royalty on cement production. During the proceedings, the court expressed serious concern over the Punjab government's decision regarding the levy.

Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi remarked that royalty should be charged on minerals rather than on bags of cement, questioning how the government could impose royalty on a finished product. He directed law officers to inform the government that the current metho...