Agriculture tax bill sails through assembly

Legislation also approved to dismiss govt employees hired during caretaker regime

PESHAWAR:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly approved crucial bills during Monday's session, including one to implement agriculture tax across the province, and another to dismiss government employees hired during the last caretaker regime.

The assembly also approved a bill to establish a new regulatory force similar to the police, sending it to the Select Committee. The committee will be headed by Chief Minister Sardar Ali Amin Gandapur and will include members like Mushtaq Ghani, Munir Hussain, Asif Khan, Ahmad Kundi, Arbab Usman, Idrees Khan, Sheer Ali, and Adnan Khan. The committee was instructed to review the bill and submit a report within four days.

The session on Monday was chaired by K-P Assembly Speaker Babar Azam Swati.

Agriculture tax

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Assembly passed the bill to impose agricultural income tax. The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Agricultural Income Tax Bill 2025 stipulates that a 15% tax will apply on annual agricultural income between Rs0.6 million and Rs1.2 million, 20% tax on income between Rs1.2 million and Rs1.6 million, and 30% on income between Rs1.6million and 3.2million. Agricultural income above Rs5.6 million will be taxed at 45%. A super tax will apply to individuals earning more than Rs150 million, annually , from agriculture. Those who own more than one land will be required to submit location details. A tax will also apply to those with 50 acres or more of cultivated land, or 100 acres or more of uncultivated land.

Dismissing govt employees

As for the bill to dismiss employees hired during the caretaker government, relevant departments will issue notifications for the dismissal of employees, and a technical committee, headed by the establishment secretary, will be formed to resolve any legal issues or complications.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Employees (Dismissal from Service) Bill 2025 will apply to appointments made between January 22, 2023, and February 29, 2024. However, employees hired under the Public Service Commission, minority and special quotas, or those appointed based on judicial orders and through proper tests and interviews, will be exempted.

During the session, Law Minister Aftab Alam presented a motion for the dismissal of employees hired during the caretaker period, citing that the Election Act of 2017 clearly specifies the role of the caretaker government, and the mandate for hiring lies with the elected government.