In a bid to reduce the persistent property tax shortfall of the past three years and boost revenue, the Excise, Taxation, and Narcotics Control Department has brought all private housing societies within the jurisdiction of the Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) and the District Council directly into the property tax net.
The department has announced that from September onwards, both domestic and commercial property tax, as well as luxury tax bills, will be issued to them.
Property tax has also been imposed on houses under construction in private housing schemes. For the 202526 financial year, the department has decided to collect commercial and residential property tax in a single lump sum, rather than in quarterly or half-yearly instalments. Consequently, all taxpayers, new and old, will now receive bills for the full year at once.
This year, bills are being issued based on the Deputy Commissioner's assessed property rates instead of the department's own rates, resulting in a rise of up to 50% in property tax for every taxpayer. The Excise and Taxation Officer (ETO) Rawalpindi has announced a 5% rebate for those who pay by September 30. From October 1, however, a crackdown will begin on defaulters, including property unit seals and arrests.
The department is also struggling to prepare tax bills due to persistent technical faults in its IT system. Against a daily target of 500 bills, only about 100 are being generated. The fault has remained unresolved for the past 10 days, further delaying the billing process.
With property tax bills now being prepared at DC rates, citizens have voiced strong protests, saying the steep increases have made life unbearable.
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