Staff Reporter Peshawar
Mass scale reforms underway in excise, taxation and narcotics control (ET&NC) Department khyber pakhtunkhwa under the reforms agenda of the incumbent provincial government have resulted in significant improvement in the overall performance of the department ensuring better service delivery and enhanced tax recovery.
This was told in a progress review meeting of ET&NC Department held here the other day with Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mahmood Khan in the chair.
The meeting reviewed in detail the overall performance of the department with special focus on the progress made so far on various reforms initiatives in the department.
Besides the Minister for Finance, Taimur Saleem Jhagra, Advisor to CM on ET&NC Department, Mian Khaleeq Ur Rehman, Principal Secretary to CM, Amjad Ali Khan and Secretary ET&NC, Haider Iqbal, other relevant authorities of ET&NC, Finance and Planning Departments attended the meeting.
Briefing the meeting about varoius reforms in the department it was told that in order to facilitate the tax payers and give them relief, rate of rebate for Urban Immovable Property Tax (UIPT) was increased from 10% to 20%, rental rate of commercial properties reduced from 18 to 15%, all shops were excluded from rental value base formula and floor wise locality factor introduced for the first time.
Similarly, rebate for private schools increased from 20 to 30%, duplication of taxes on 18 items abolished and tax on profession, trades and calling exempted for the current financial year.
It was further informed that to encourage maximum vehicles registration in the province free of cost registration system for vehicles introduced adding that registration fee for vehicles upto 2500 cc fixed at one rupee only and 1% of the total value for vehicles above 2500cc.
Regarding the tax recovery of the department, the forum was informed that a total tax recovery of Rs. 3.00 billion was made during the financial year 2019-20 against the total target of Rs. 3.33 billion which is 90% of the target whereas a tax recovery of Rs. 4.01 billion was made during the financial year 2020-21 against the target of Rs. 3.74 billion which is 107% of the set target.
Regarding the steps taken by the department for effective narcotics control, it was told that during the last one year, the narcotics control wing the department seized about 5000 kg of various narcotics and 715 Ltr of alcohol, registered 484 cases, arrested 573 accused and lodged firs against 333 vehicles.
