Excise dept’s tax move faces backlash
photo: file
In a surprising move, the Excise Taxation and Narcotics Control Department has levied substantial taxes on owners of commercial and residential properties located in slums and rural localities within city limits, declaring them defaulters and including them in the tax net.
As part of their tax collection efforts, the department has also sealed nineteen property units and shops in slums and rural areas, leading to widespread protests among the affected residents.
In response to the situation, citizens convened a grand jirga (tribal council meeting) involving neighboring slums and rural areas on Sunday (today).
The jirga is poised to decide on staging a sit-in in front of the excise department's office, protesting against the imposition of property taxes on rural union councils without the provision of basic facilities.
Additionally, the residents will decide on challenging the department's notices and the sealing of their houses in the Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi bench.
Rahmetabad Union Council Chairman Taj Abbasi stated that the slum dwellers, officially recognised as such, cannot be included in property tax assessments. The excise department has issued property tax notices ranging from Rs0.5 to 1.3 million to small grocery shops, barber shops, tea stalls, and other small businesses. Abbasi expressed the refusal to pay these property taxes under any circumstances.
He emphasised that the imposition of property taxes should be accompanied by the provision of basic facilities such as water, electricity, gas, improved roads, streets, post offices, dispensaries, and schools.
However, their localities, including Rahmetabad, Jaba, Jibbi, Dhoke Munshi, Chaklala Village, Shah Faisal Colony, Dhok Hafiz, and Afzal Town, lack these fundamental amenities. He added that the excise department had previously issued these property tax notices three years ago, but former Law Minister Raja Basharat had intervened and declared these areas exempt from taxation.
On the other hand, the director of the excise and taxation department said that the notices were issued in accordance with the Land Revenue Act of 1967. The department intends to auction off the properties of defaulters and take legal action against those who illegally unseal the properties.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 18th, 2023.