Over high prices: Standing committee on revenue rejects land valuation table

The land valuation table determines the price of the land on the basis of which owner of the land pays tax to the govt

PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly‘s Standing Committee for Revenue has rejected the implementation of the land valuation table, calling it unjust to people of the region. The table was prepared by a private firm hired by the government to evaluate prices of land across the province.

The decision was taken at a meeting held on Thursday.

The land valuation table determines the price of the land on the basis of which owner of the land pays tax to the government. To prepare the table to fix the government’s rate of land across the province, the consultancy of Industrial Consultants and Machinery Linkers (ICML) was hired in 2015.

While talking to The Express Tribune, Standing Committee on Revenue Chairperson Maulana Mufti Fazal Ghafoor, who presided the meeting, said the private firm was hired in 2015 to revise the land valuation table. He said the government considered a revision because it believed the previous one was not transparent as it was prepared by the deputy commissioner of the respective districts through consultation with patwaris and tehsildars.

However, he said ICML, in its survey, has increased the prices of land by around 200% against prices in the old land valuation table. He added it was complete injustice for the public to pay such a large amount of taxes.

Justifying by law

Ghafoor said that as per laws, it was mandatory for the property owner to pay 2% tax on their property to the district government and 2% to the provincial government.

Therefore, he added, the committee has rejected the valuation table prepared under the umbrella of ICML’s survey and have decided to maintain the old table with an increase of 25% in the price of land.

The committee has again directed the deputy commissioners of the districts to come up with a new land valuation table with reasonable prices.

Probing flaws

When ICML was approached to ask about mistakes in preparation of the survey to make the valuation table, ICML Chief Executive Officer Umar Khan Safi told The Express Tribune, the survey was conducted by following proper procedures, taking into account the market prices of the land. Safi said he briefed the government representatives over the entire process and no one objected over the procedure.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 24^th, 2016.