Revenue wars: AJK cabinet blocks council from collecting duties

Shuts down PPHI programme in three districts, drops road construction plan as austerity measure

MUZAFFARABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Cabinet decided on Monday to stop the Kashmir Council from collecting the general sales tax (GST) and excise duty in the region.

However, Kashmir Council can collect the other taxes.

The decision has been taken in the wake of the AJK government’s plans to establish its own department to collect these taxes. The taxation and excise departments in AJK are directly controlled by the federal government through Ministry of Kashmir Affairs and Gilgit-Baltistan.



“The AJK government will establish its own department to collect GST and excise duty to increase its income,” said Finance Minister Dr Najeeb Naqi and Information Minister Mustaq Minhas while briefing the media after Monday’s cabinet meeting. The cabinet, presided over by Prime Minister Farooq Haider Khan, has also decided to privatise the recently built Prime Minister House, which was constructed at a cost of Rs700 million under the Urban Development Programme in earthquake-hit area of Muzaffarabad.

Dr Naqi further said that to promote austerity in the region, they have decided to drop a project to construct over 105 kilometers roads which would link the different tourist spots with each other in all ten districts. He did not explain why the decision was taken to drop a project which could have helped bring more revenue to the region. The cabinet also approved a move to recall over 274 government employees serving at the residences of retired officers.

The government has also decided to shut down Peoples Primary Healthcare Initiative (PPHI) in three districts of AJK. Under the programme, special teams have been deputed to monitor doctors at Basic Health Units in in Mirpur, Kotli and Muzaffarabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 18^th, 2016.