Seeking licence fee: Interior ministry, ICT admin put on notice

Traders say Islamabad administration demanding the same fee they are paying to civic agency

ISLAMABAD: A local court on Monday put interior ministry, capital administration and civic officials on notice on a petition filed by fruit and vegetable traders against licence fee.

Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) issued notices to secretary and deputy secretary interior ministry, CDA, chief commissioner, deputy commissioner and the administrator of the Sabzi Mandi Market Committee and adjourned the case till November 6.

The traders’ counsel informed the court that they were already paying taxes and fee to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) since the establishment of the market in 1980.

However, the market committee, which works under the capital administration, has recently directed the traders to pay it licence fees.

The petitioners maintained that demanding licence fee and levies was unwarranted and illegal requesting the court to set it aside.

The lawyers for the petitioners, Abdul Shakoor Paracha and Haseeb Shakoor Paracha, maintained that on one hand, the CDA has the authority to set up a public market and to charge fee for the issuance of licence and on the other, the interior ministry issued a notification authorising the market committee to set up a market and charge licence fee.

They argued that power granted to two different authorities under two different laws are overlapping.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 3^rd, 2015.