Gaddafi Stadium sealed, unsealed in three hours

Excise and Taxation Dept officials cite court orders for closing the ground

KARACHI: Officials of the Punjab Excise and Taxation Department, accompanied by dozens of police officers, sealed the Gaddafi Stadium early on Thursday, claiming to be acting in accordance with the orders of the Lahore High Court pertaining to the application of property tax.

Following the unseemly haste, the main gate of the stadium was unsealed by Excise and Taxation Department officials after about three hours as the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials filtered into their offices to resume their daily routine after nearly an hour’s uncertainty and delay.

Originally, the PCB was supposed to pay property taxes for the period of 1996-2004. However, the court revised the term on the PCB’s appeal and directed them to pay for the 2002-2004 time period. However, fresh notices calculated in terms of the judgement of the Lahore High Court were yet to be issued.

Additionally, the judgement of the Honourable Justice Ibadur Rehman Lodhi had not been signed till after the stadium was sealed by the excise department.

“We shall abide by the verdict of the court after our legal department has gone through the detailed judgement”, said PCB Chairman Shaharyar Khan. “The PCB is a law abiding organisation which duly pays all its taxes; we are perhaps the most taxed sports organisation in the entire country. To the Punjab government, the PCB pays tens of millions as commercialisation fee annually at the rate of 20 per cent of revenue. It would also be pertinent to mention here: The PCB is a non-profit organisation which ploughs any and all revenue generated towards the development and promotion of cricket.”

Meanwhile, a PCB spokesman said that Zimbabwe is about to tour Pakistan and at such an auspicious occasion, sending a negative signal to the international cricketing community is not in consonance with promoting the national cause.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 1^st,  2015.

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