Property Tax Bills Should Be Corrected in Line with Court Orders, Says Ajmal Baloch

ISLAMABAD: President All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajran and Traders Action Committee Islamabad Ajmal Baloch, Secretary Traders Action Committee Islamabad and Chairman Traders and Market Development Committee ICCI Khalid Mahmood Chaudhry, along with presidents and representatives of various markets in the federal capital, have expressed serious concern over the issuance of new and additional property tax bills by the CDA Revenue Department.

The traders said clear decisions of the Islamabad High Court exist regarding property tax, and in light of these court orders, the CDA should withdraw disputed and additional bills and issue corrected or revised bills. They maintained that under the court decisions, no new tax can be imposed and no increase in the existing tax rate can be made until an elected local government is established in Islamabad.

They said the property tax cases had been decided in favour of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, while the CDA and Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad had filed intra-court appeals against the decisions. They maintained that merely because an appeal is pending, the court orders cannot be ignored, nor can additional bills be issued or disputed taxes recovered.

The traders demanded that until a final decision is reached by the court, recovery of disputed property tax, penalties and surcharges, sealing of properties and all other coercive measures should be immediately suspended. They also called for the Revenue Department to establish special desks in every market to facilitate prompt correction of property tax bills in accordance with the court orders.

They said the business community did not oppose the payment of lawful and reasonable taxes, but would not accept any additional financial burden imposed in violation of court orders. Electricity, gas, petroleum and other business costs had already increased substantially, while imposing disputed taxes would further aggravate the difficulties faced by traders and adversely affect the business environment.

Ajmal Baloch and Khalid Mahmood Chaudhry demanded that the CDA Chairman take immediate notice of the matter and direct the Revenue Department to withdraw the disputed bills and issue corrected bills strictly in accordance with the court decisions.

They warned that if the court orders were not fully implemented, the traders would consider pursuing contempt of court proceedings and other available legal remedies.

The statement was also endorsed by Karachi Company President Raja Zulfiqar, General Secretary Shahid Hussain Abbasi, G-10 Markaz President Mian Kamran Kakakhel, G-11 Markaz President Naeem Awan, F-11 Markaz President Mehrullah Dad, F-10 Markaz President Ahmed Khan, General Secretary Naeem Iqbal, Super Market President Shehzad Abbasi, Blue Area President Yousaf Rajput, Sitara Market President Syed Altaf Hussain Shah, I-8 Markaz President Chaudhry Waheed Cheema, I-9 Markaz President Safdar Abbasi, Simly Road Bhara Kahu President Raja Zahid Dhanyal and Aabpara Market General Secretary Akhtar Abbasi.