Neelum-Jhelum: Petition filed against ‘illegal’ surcharge
Petition says electricity from the Neelum Jhelum Power Project is neither being supplied nor utilised by public
ISLAMABAD:
A petitioner has approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) claiming the Neelum-Jhelum surcharge being charged from electricity consumers every month is illegal.
The petitioner, Imdad Hussain, has nominated the secretary of the Water and Power Ministry and heads of National Electric Power Regularity Authority (Nepra), Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) and Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) as respondents.
Yasir Mehmood, the petitioner’s counsel, told the court that the respondents had imposed the charge through a notification issued on January 4, 2008. That notification, which is valid till December 31, 2015, was issued prematurely, illegally, without jurisdiction and is an abuse of power, he stated.
The petition said that presently electricity from the Neelum Jhelum Power Project is neither being supplied nor utilised by the public, thus its forcible advance payment is unconstitutional.
It also states that the levy is also in violation of Article 157 (2) (b) of the Constitution which provides that a tax on consumption of electricity can only be imposed through a law and that too by the provincial government.
The petitioner also pointed out that none of the relevant laws, such as the Electricity Act 1910, Wapda Act 1958 and the Nepra Act 1997, provide for imposition of surcharge for an under-construction project.
The petitioner requested the court to declare the surcharge illegal and restrain the respondents from collecting any amount in consumers’ monthly bills. Justice Athar Minallah will take up the petition on Monday.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2014.
A petitioner has approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) claiming the Neelum-Jhelum surcharge being charged from electricity consumers every month is illegal.
The petitioner, Imdad Hussain, has nominated the secretary of the Water and Power Ministry and heads of National Electric Power Regularity Authority (Nepra), Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) and Islamabad Electric Supply Company (Iesco) as respondents.
Yasir Mehmood, the petitioner’s counsel, told the court that the respondents had imposed the charge through a notification issued on January 4, 2008. That notification, which is valid till December 31, 2015, was issued prematurely, illegally, without jurisdiction and is an abuse of power, he stated.
The petition said that presently electricity from the Neelum Jhelum Power Project is neither being supplied nor utilised by the public, thus its forcible advance payment is unconstitutional.
It also states that the levy is also in violation of Article 157 (2) (b) of the Constitution which provides that a tax on consumption of electricity can only be imposed through a law and that too by the provincial government.
The petitioner also pointed out that none of the relevant laws, such as the Electricity Act 1910, Wapda Act 1958 and the Nepra Act 1997, provide for imposition of surcharge for an under-construction project.
The petitioner requested the court to declare the surcharge illegal and restrain the respondents from collecting any amount in consumers’ monthly bills. Justice Athar Minallah will take up the petition on Monday.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2014.