LHC tells Irrigation Dept not to harass SKMCH admin

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court has told the Punjab Irrigation and Power Department not to use coercive measures against the administration of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital (SKMCH) for recovery of electricity duty.

Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed issued this order in a petition by Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Center through its chief executive officer Dr Faisal Sultan.

The petitioner submitted that they had installed three electricity generators of 2,000 KVA, 1,400 KVA and 1,350 KVA as the hospital needs uninterrupted electricity supply. He also pointed out that the hospital is a charitable organisation established under Societies Regulation Act of Pakistan.

He said on January 25, 2010, an electricity inspector of the department issued them a notice that since the hospital was using generators of capacity exceeding 500 KVA, it had to pay electricity duty. He said that the notice also required them to submit a report about energy generation, distribution and consumption so that the department could make an assessment about the electricity duty the hospital owed.

Sultan said that the hospital had replied to the notice, telling the department that it did not fall under the charging provision. He said that instead of exempting them from the duty, the department not only rejected their reply but also started using coercive measures for recovery of the duty.

The petitioner said that the hospital did not fall under the fifth Schedule of the Finance Act 1964 and was not a profitable organisation; that it provided free treatment to poor patients.

He prayed the court to declare the notice for recovery of the electricity duty as illegal and stop the department from intimidating the hospital administration.

After hearing the arguments, the judge fixed the petition with an already-pending petition of similar nature.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 13^th, 2010.