The non-recovery of the property tax was the violation of the Section 16 of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Urban Immovable Property Tax Act, 1958, which says any sum due on account of property tax, which remains unpaid after due date without sufficient cause to the satisfaction of the collector is required to be recovered as arrears of land revenue.
It was held that loss occurred due to inefficiency and negligence of the department. The matter was reported to the department during February to November 2014 and Departmental Accounts Committee (DAC) in its meeting directed the recovery of the amount and getting it verified from audit. But, no progress was reported till the finalization of the audit report.
The audit report has recommended the fixation of responsibility and recovery of the amount under intimation to audit.
In second case, the Excise & Taxation Officers during the years 2012-13 and 2013-14 did not recover Property Tax amounting to Rs 18.307 million from Town Municipal Administration (TMAs), Nowshera, Aman Garh, Jahangira, Akora Khattak, Abbottabad, Municipal Corporation Peshawar, Kohat, Bannu, Peshawar Development Authority, Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited (SNGPL) and PESCO Haripur.
The matter was reported to the department and DAC in its meeting directed the recovery of the amount either through departmental efforts or book adjustment through Finance Department, but till finalization of this report no further progress was reported.
The audit has ordered the recovery of the amount from the defaulters and strengthening of internal controls to avoid recurrence of such negligence in future.
In third case the Excise & Taxation Offices in different districts failed to realize 15% Provincial Government share of Property Tax from Bannu, Nowshera, Peshawar, D.I. Khan and Kohat Cantonment Boards, resulting in loss of Rs 12.767 million.
The matter was reported to the department and during DAC meeting ETO Bannu and Nowshera reported recovery of Rs 1.22 million. DAC directed to get verify the reported recovery from audit and recover the balance amount. But, no progress was reported.
Audit has recommended expeditious recovery of government dues, strengthening of internal controls to avoid recurrence of such negligence in future.
Similarly, in fourth case, the offices of the department during the years 2012-13 and 2013-14 did not recover Professional Tax amounting to Rs 4.156 million in different districts of the province. The matter was reported to the department with the directives to recover the amount and get it verified from audit, but till finalization of the audit report no progress was made in the recovery.
During the same period the Excise & Taxation Offices in different districts failed to recover Hotel Tax amounting to Rs 3.087 million.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2017