Punjab Finance, Excise and Taxation minister says they are going to set up an anti-narcotics wing in Excise and Taxation Department after Punjab CM’s approval
LAHORE: Highlighting performance of the Punjab Revenue Authority, Punjab Finance, Excise and Taxation and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rehman on Monday said that the authority had collected Rs 48 billion last year and they were looking forward to collecting Rs 80 billion in the current financial year.
Talking exclusively to Customs Today, he said the government was all set to make property tax collection flawless, especially after the recent overcharging by the Excise and Taxation Department.
The minister said the provincial government has not increased any taxes on the vehicles rather it was collecting withholding tax (WHT) levied by the federal government. The WHT was being deposited in the federal government’s kitty, he added.
The Punjab Revenue Authority (PRA) is doing well as it has become one of the major tax collection houses.
He talked at length on various taxes, including excise tax on vehicles, property and services taxes.
“We have halted collection of property tax at the places where there is no municipal service available. In order to tackle issues arising in property tax collection we have set up a comprehensive system of help lines throughout the province,” the minister highlighted. He hoped that the measures would help the government to resolve complaints regarding overbilling.
Recently, the department had come to know that officials had overcharged property holders in the name of property tax, he said.
“The Excise and Taxation Department increased 50 percent property tax while the taxpayers have been asked to pay more than that in the name of revision,” said the minister.
He added that the government has taken far-reaching steps to tackle with the issue and the officials responsible for overcharging the taxpayers have been suspended. Mujtaba added a large scale reshuffling of the staff has also been undertaken.
“We are also going to set up an Anti-Narcotics Wing in Excise and Taxation Department following the approval of the Punjab chief minister. The project will be operational in one or two months.”
Talking about vehicle token tax, he said that the Excise and Taxation Department had not revised the tax for the last 10 years.
“Up to 1000CC vehicles come under the head of life-time token taxes and further we have not increased any taxes. Actually the federal government has imposed withholding tax in all the provinces.
“Due to this reason it is widely being considered that the provincial government has increased vehicle token tax which is not correct. However, we are going to take up the issue with the federal government,” he clarified.
