ISLAMABAD: The federal government and Federal Board of Revenue have been urged to remove anomalies in the FBR-notified valuation tables, which are curbing momentum of real estate activities.
This demand was raised by Pakistan Real Estate Investment Forum (PREIF) President Shaban Elahi during a meeting of the forum delegation with the National Assembly’s Standing Committee of Finance held in Islamabad to discuss the anomalies in FBR-valuation tables. Other members of the delegation included Naveed Bajwa, Javed Rehman, Abdul Wahid and Hassan Basharat.
Praising the government and the FBR for recent amendments in the Income Tax Ordinance, the PREIF president informed the lawmakers that in the post-amendment scenario, the real estate activities in the country were picking up and investor confidence was rebuilding amongst overseas as well as locals. He mentioned that property valuation tables for areas all over Pakistan were notified by FBR after consultation with the stakeholders however there were some exceptions where there were glaring valuation anomalies.
He highlighted the case of DHA City Karachi in addition to SITE area (Karachi), Anmol Co-Operative Society (Lahore), DHA Valley (Islamabad) and areas of Peshawar. Valuations in these areas are unnaturally high. This is increasing the transaction cost disproportionately and thereby discouraging investment in these areas.
“While the overall health of Pakistan real estate is improving but activities in the above highlighted areas are being held back due to the valuation anomalies. Tax revenue from these areas can be increased substantially if these valuation anomalies are resolved,” Shaban Elahi argued.
MNA Mian Abdul Mannan pointed out some areas in Faisalabad where the valuations were too high and needed to be corrected. MNA Muhammad Pervaiz Malik informed that some areas in Lahore also had valuation anomalies.
Committee Chairman Qaiser Ahmed Sheikh shared that he was personally aware about anomalies of SITE industrial area and supported PREIF’s stance. FBR member Inland Revenue Policy said on the occasion that real estate activity in the country is showing healthy signs after the amendments in the income tax ordinance. After detailed discussion, Qaiser Sheikh agreed to form a four-member sub-committee to look into the matter and find out the solution in consultation with all stakeholders. He announced that the sub-committee will consist of Mian Abdul Mannan, Sheikh Fayyaz Uddin, Makhdoom Syed Mustafa Mehmood and Mohammad Ali Rashid.
