BAHAWALPUR – December 8, 2022: Asif Balal Lodhi, Secretary Excise, Taxation, and Information and Culture Punjab, stated on Thursday that the property tax assessment system was being switched to a capital value tax system in order to reduce public complaints about property tax.
He voiced these thoughts to media on Thursday during a visit to the excise office to examine the tax recovery situation. He stated that property tax rates were being assessed using DC rates first, and that it was being transformed to the most recent value system for the people’s pleasure.
He stated that they were attempting to adopt this method by the following fiscal year and that the department’s two primary challenges were transparency in property tax and the issuing of number plates.
He stated that the number plate and smart card difficulties were being rectified gradually, citing the issuance of one million number plates in the previous 15 days, and that they had updated their arrangement with Pakistan Post to ensure the timely distribution of plates and cards to residents.
The Secretary of Excise also stated that the car registration procedure was being simplified and that vehicle owners will soon be able to verify the status of their vehicles simply using the tracking system. He insisted, however, that the province government had established the ‘Go Punjab’ App, which included excise-related information.
In terms of tax objectives, Mr Asif stated that a total excise tax target of Rs 43 billion was established for the province for the current fiscal year, and that they had already met half of the target and anticipated to easily meet the remaining half despite a 35% decrease in car registrations this year.
In response to a query regarding biometrics, Secretary stated that the provincial government has granted a two-month relaxation in car biometrics, with the aim that the vehicle backlog would be addressed during this time.
He stated that the province had around Rs 24 billion in pending dues on deceased defaulters and that they had set a Rs four billion recovery objective from dead defaulters this year.