Excise dept fails to meet tax collection target for Pindi

RAWALPINDI:

The Punjab Department of Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control has failed to achieve the targets of property tax, professional tax and luxury tax collections for the first six months of the new fiscal year 2022-23, from July 1 to December 31, despite issuing red notices to the taxpayers.

The department’s Rawalpindi region is facing a shortfall of Rs100 million in terms of collection of property tax, luxury tax and professional tax while its motor branch is also facing a shortfall of Rs102.5 million.

The taxpayers have not yet deposited these taxes during the current fiscal year while the performance of the motor branch has also been adversely affected by the suspension of the Biometric Vehicle Registration System for two months till February 28.

The Rawalpindi region’s motor branch has also seen a record drop in new registrations of vehicles and motorcycles in the first half of the new fiscal year while transfers of old vehicles could not see a rise.

According to sources in the excise department, 155,000 vehicle owners of the Rawalpindi region could not be provided with computerised number plates of vehicles and motorcycles. Further, the computerised smart registration cards could not be issued to 130,000 transport owners in two years.

The sources said that from January 2, the excise department’s property branch is going to conduct a major operation against the defaulters of property tax, luxury tax and professional tax. The offices of the excise department will remain open till late at night on December 30 and 31 for the collection of property tax. Red notices have been issued to all the defaulters.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2022.