Public nuisance: Excise, tax department a hole for local souls

Lack of water, fans, parking problems, touts among issues for visitors at the office.

ISLAMABAD: The Excise and Taxation office in Sector H-9 generates annual revenue of Rs4 billion, but the experience for members of the public going there for work seems a low priority for the officials in charge.

Upon entering the building, long queues can be seen at every counter. The building is next to a metro station and recent construction work has aggravated problems here. Improperly parked vehicles and motorbikes on nearby roads and roadside vendors give the feel of a fish market.

Shakeel Karar came to the office from Tarnol early in the morning, but the whole process still took all day, standing in queues and going to different windows in the hot summer. “There is no cold water, proper waiting area, or even fans,” he said curtly.

Except for a few benches near the entry gate and upstairs, people are left shoving each other to make space in the limited area, amid queues of over 200 people. “It feels like a punishment,” said Ali Hassan, a student of Iqra University who had come to get his bike registered.

The office was shifted from H-8 Markaz to this building in June 2014, ostensibly temporarily, as a purpose-built structure was supposed to be constructed at the Chief Commissioner’s office in Sector G-11, but nothing has been done so far. Earlier under the Capital Administration and Development, some parts of this building are still controlled by the Ministry of Education.

An officer in the department, who was not authorised to comment to the media, said high ups have been told they need 20 more staffers and some facilities to improve performance, but nobody pays heed, despite it being a revenue generating unit. “Similarly, financial corruption and favoritism is brought up, and members of the public come here and are not properly facilitated, but no one seems to care,” he said.

A few weeks ago, some people were arrested for distributing fake bank challans. An official privy to this development said they were probing the case and close to rounding up the whole gang, which had distributed multiple challans of up to Rs40,000.

Another issue being faced by public is touts. They surround people entering the building and dealmaking takes place in public view. An officer was overheard directing the staff to process the cases of ‘genuine’ people in the line and ignore any referrals from touts. “It is a routine matter. This is how system works,” said the officer when asked about the involvement of public officials in such acts.

Excise and Taxation Director Mariam Mumtaz said there were problems for the general public and attempts were being made to address them. “We hope to add more facilities, but budgetary issues are a hurdle,” she added.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 22^nd, 2015.