RCB issues notices for property reassessment
RAWALPINDI:
The Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) has issued thousands of notices for the reassessment of residential and commercial buildings located along the median strip between Peshawar Road and Colonel Sher Khan Shaheed Road.
The move follows the resolution of a longstanding municipal boundary dispute with the Capital Development Authority (CDA) by the federal cabinet.
The reassessment, once completed, is expected to generate an additional annual revenue of Rs2 billion for the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB). Property owners receiving notices have been directed to submit ownership and other relevant documents to the RCB within 15 days. Failure to comply will result in a fine of Rs10,000 per property.
According to sources, the municipal boundary dispute between the RCB and CDA, dating back to 1980, was settled following a federal cabinet decision.
As a result, the cantonment board has begun reassessing properties in the newly designated municipal areas under its jurisdiction.
Notices have been issued for document submission, while property owners with outstanding tax liabilities are receiving warning notices. According to a completed assessment covering properties worth Rs6 billion, tax notices were now being sent to owners who had previously withheld payments, citing the boundary dispute.
Meanwhile, unassessed properties were under review, with owners required to provide the necessary documentation for tax evaluation.
The RCB is reportedly facing severe financial strain, struggling to pay staff salaries on time and clear outstanding payments to contractors for completed development projects.
A significant portion of the board's budget is allocated to salaries, utility services, and operational expenses, leaving minimal funds for infrastructure development.
With the recent boundary resolution, the RCB expects an annual revenue boost of Rs2 billion from property tax collection.
Tax Superintendent Muhammad Siddiq stated that the reassessed areas have been categorised into two groupsone where assessments are complete and Rs6 billion in unpaid taxes are due, and another where assessments are pending, requiring document submissions from property owners.
Assistant Secretary and RCB spokesperson Rashid Saqib confirmed that Cantonment Executive Officer Ali Irfan Rizvi has directed strict enforcement of tax collection under a zero-tolerance policy.
All measures, he assured, will be implemented within the legal framework.
The RCB was established in 1849, with its boundaries formally defined in 1957.
In contrast, the CDA was formed in 1960, with Islamabad's district limits finalised in 1963.
The municipal boundary dispute led to legal battles in various courts, ultimately resulting in a Supreme Court directive for the federal cabinet to resolve the issue.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
37 minutes ago
- Express Tribune
Govt introduces significant pension reforms to reduce burden
The federal government has introduced significant pension reforms as part of the Budget 2025-26, aiming to rationalise public spending and reduce the growing fiscal burden posed by the existing pension system. Unveiling the budget 2025-26 in the National Assembly on Tuesday, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced that retired public servants rejoining government service will now be required to choose between their pension or the new salary, effectively ending the practice of dual financial benefits. Among the new measures, the government has also imposed a 5% tax on high-income pensioners — defined as those under the age of 70 with an annual pension exceeding Rs10 million. However, the minister clarified that low and middle-income pensioners will remain exempt from this tax. The duration of family pensions has been capped at 10 years following the death of the pensioner's spouse, and multiple pensions will no longer be allowed. Aurangzeb said that for decades, successive administrations had amended the pension system through executive orders, resulting in a disproportionate burden on the national exchequer. The current reforms, he said, aim to streamline the pension structure and align future increases with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) to ensure sustainability. He further stated that premature retirements will be discouraged under the new policy framework, reinforcing the government's commitment to a financially viable pension system.
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
PSX soars to new peak
Listen to article The Pakistan Stock exchange (PSX) closed at a record high on Tuesday, though the benchmark KSE-100 index fluctuated within a narrow range amid uncertainty surrounding the budget announcement. The index registered the intra-day high of 970 points and intra-day low of 51 points, before settling at 122,024, an increase of 383 points. Analysts noted that the record budget outlay of Rs17.6 trillion, alongside approval of Rs800 billion for the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP), played a key role in the record high close at the PSX. The IMF's approval of bank loans to settle the Rs2 trillion circular debt and speculation about tariff rationalisation buoyed market sentiment. According to Ahsan Mehanti of Arif Habib Corp, stocks reached an all-time high, led by blue chips, as investors weighed a record budget outlay of Rs17.6 trillion and the approval of Rs800 billion for the PSDP. He added that surging global crude oil prices, the IMF's approval of bank loans to resolve the Rs2 trillion circular debt crisis in the gas sector and speculation about rationalisation of import tariffs in the federal budget played the role of catalysts in bullish close at the PSX. At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded an increase of 383.44 points, or 0.32%, and settled at 122,024.44. In its review, Topline Securities commented that the stock market witnessed a range-bound session, with the index fluctuating within a narrow band, amid uncertainty surrounding the budget announcement. The index recorded the intra-day high of 970 points and intra-day low of 51 points. It closed at 122,024, up 383 points.
1595079124-0%2FWebp-net-resizeimage-(6)1595079124-0.jpg&w=3840&q=100)
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
Youth preferring to shop and earn online taxed
Listen to article In a highly unusual move, the government has proposed to extract Rs64 billion in the next fiscal year by taxing the digital, online platforms as well as courier services, which may discourage digitalisation of the economy and youth of the country. From 0.25% to 5%, the new tax has been imposed on digital service providers, e-commerce platforms, websites, social media platforms and poor courier doing business of delivering goods at homes and receiving cash on delivery. The government has defined the digitally delivered services as any service delivered over the internet or electronic networks, where the delivery is automated and requires minimal or no human intervention including music, audio and video streaming services, cloud services, online software application services, services delivered through online interpersonal interaction, ie, telemedicine, e-learning etc, online banking services, architectural design services, research and consultancy reports, accounting services in the form of digital files or any other online facility. E-commerce has been defined as the sale or purchase of goods and services conducted over computer networks by methods specifically designed for the purpose of receiving or placing orders either through websites, mobile applications or online marketplaces having digital ordering features by using either mobile phones, iPads, Tablets or automated computer-to-computer ordering systems. The government has introduced a new law whereby it will charge every foreign vendor having significant digital presence in Pakistan in the name of Digital Presence Proceeds Tax on proceeds of every supply made from outside Pakistan of digitally ordered services or goods, irrespective of whether delivered digitally or physically. It has proposed a 5% tax on digital services. These foreign vendors will be liable to provide client-wise information of local vendors or foreign vendors with or without a permanent establishment whose advertisements are relayed in Pakistan through their platform and the amount received. Banks will be required to deduct the 5% tax. On the use of local online platforms, the government will charge a 1% tax where the amount does not exceed Rs10,000. Where the amount paid does not exceed Rs25,000, the rate will be 2% and where the amount exceeds Rs25,000, the tax rate will be 0.25%. Likewise, the government has introduced a new tax on cash on delivery by courier services. On the supply of electronic and electrical goods, the rate is 0.25%, on clothing articles, 2% of the gross amount will be charged and on other goods, the rate is 1% of the value. The government has also proposed fines on allowing unregistered persons to use online platforms without registering with the FBR. Where an online marketplace allows an unregistered vendor, whether resident or non-resident involved in e-commerce business supplying digitally ordered goods or services, who is required to register under the Sales Tax Act 1990 and Income Tax Ordinance 2001, under Section 181 before using the platform, he will be liable to a fine of Rs1 million. Where a banking company, payment gateway or courier service provider, as the case may be, fails to deduct tax at the time of making payment to a seller, or fails to pay the tax deducted as required under Section 160, with respect to digitally ordered goods or rendering or providing digitally delivered services using an e-commerce platform, he will be liable to a fine equal to 100% of the tax involved in the transaction.
