Excise dept yet to prepare tax bills
The department has linked various property types to the government-assessed property prices set by the deputy commissioners in different areas.
As a result, the commercial and domestic property tax rates across Rawalpindi Division and other cities in Punjab have increased by 10-25pc. Deputy commissioners of Rawalpindi, Attock, Chakwal, Murree, Talagang, and Jhelum have raised the official property prices in their respective areas.
However, the updated data has yet to be uploaded to the Excise Department's tax app, and the department has not received a hard copy of the data.
Furthermore, the department's online system has been facing continuous technical issues. Despite the passage of the first ten days of the new financial year, no new property tax bills have been issued.
The Director of Excise and Taxation, Rawalpindi, confirmed that new property tax bills will begin to be issued by the end of July.
Taxpayers will receive notices to pay their property tax without any penalty by September 30. If the tax is not paid by October 1, operations will be carried out against defaulters, and properties will be sold.
This year, property tax bills will also be sent via WhatsApp, and recipients will be required to confirm receipt. Even after confirmation, if the tax is not paid, the property will be seized.
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