Excise dept misses property tax target

RAWALPINDI:

The Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control Department has failed to achieve its Rs12 billion tax collection target for the outgoing fiscal year 2025-26, although its Motor Branch met its assigned target.

Despite withdrawing tax exemptions for five-marla houses, increasing tax rates and bringing rural settlements and new upscale housing schemes into the property tax net, the department fell 41 per cent short of its property tax target. Zone-5, Rawalpindi's most developed area, recorded a shortfall of nearly 60 per cent.

Between June 1 and June 27, Excise field staff sealed 511 properties during operations against defaulters across the district and recovered Rs26.6 million, but the overall target remained unmet.

According to departmental sources, the main reason behind the shortfall is the declining purchasing power of households.

Officials say many families are struggling to meet basic household expenses, and tax recovery teams often face protests and verbal abuse, particularly from women.

An Excise inspector said many residents tell officials to arrest or even shoot them because they simply do not have the money to pay taxes.