ISLAMABAD: Under the new property valuation formula, notified by the Federal Board of Revenue for 12 major cities, the value of residential plots in Lahore and Peshawar is the highest in a maximum number of areas.

The new property tables, which came into effect on July 31, 2016, will be used for the calculation of federal taxes — capital gains tax (CGT), withholding tax and section 111 of the Income Tax Ordinance 2001.

On Tuesday, the FBR notified value tables for Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur in Sindh; Peshawar, Mardan and Abbottabad in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Lahore, Rawalpindi and Sargodha in Punjab; Quetta and Gwadar in Balochistan; and Islamabad.

A tax official told Dawn that the FBR and realty stakeholders had applied different formulas to increase the existing deputy commissioner (DC) rates in all cities for the levy of federal taxes. However, DC rates for provincial taxes would remain unchanged, the official said.

“We have just used the DC rate as a benchmark to work out new tables with higher values for these cities,” the official clarified.

FBR notifies new valuation tables for 12 cities

There is little uniformity in the units of land measurement used for valuation. While land holdings are calculated in marla for Lahore and Peshawar, measurements from Islamabad are in square yards. The tables for Karachi, however, feature square yards for residential, commercial and open industrial plots, while built-up industrial property and apartments are valued in square feet.

In addition, there is no distinction between commercial and industrial property in the tables issued for Lahore and Peshawar, while in Islamabad, rates are assigned sector-wise.

Karachi

New values were notified for properties in 193 areas of the metropolis. Properties in various areas have been segregated into eight categories, with category I having the highest value and category VIII having the lowest value properties. A property that does not appear to fall in any of the categories will be valued at the rate of the lowest adjacent category in the list.

No values were notified for the four industrial areas of the city – KPT Industrial Area, Landhi Industrial Area, Korangi Industrial Estate and SITE Industrial Area.

Of the 193 localities notified, residential open plot and built-up properties in around 45 areas were placed in category I. The value of a residential plot in category I is calculated at Rs25,000 per square yard or Rs625,000 per marla, while the value of a residential built-up plot comes to Rs32,000 per square yard, or Rs800,000 per marla, according to conversion values commonly used by real estate agents.

For commercial areas, the value of an open plot in category I will be Rs 75,000 per square foot or Rs1,875,000 per marla, while in the case of a built-up commercial plot, the rate will be Rs54,000 per square foot or Rs1,350,000 per marla, which is lower than that of open commercial plots in the same area.

Lahore

The values of property in Lahore are segregated by township and no categories of value are used here. The only difference is between residential and commercial areas, with no distinction between open plots or built-up ones.

A total of 228 localities are placed in Allama Iqbal Town, where the highest rate for residential plots is Rs612,500 per marla in the Abdalian Co-op Society, while the lowest rate is Rs96,000 per marla in Mehndipur. In the same town, the highest valued commercial property, worth Rs5.7 million per marla, is located in Green Fortress Phase III, while the lowest valued commercial property, worth Rs145,750 per marla, is located in Mehndipur and parts of Raiwind located outside UC-148 and 149.

There are 52 localities in Aziz Bhatti Town; 187 in Data Gunj Buksh Town; 87 in Gulberg Town; 119 in Samanabad Town; 165 in Ravi Town; 97 in Shalimar Town; 68 in Wagha Town; and 231 in Nishtar Town.

The values show that in most residential areas, plots were valued between Rs200,000 to Rs500,000 per marla, with a few exception where prices are as high as Rs5 million per marla.

In 36 residential areas, the per marla price is calculated at over Rs1m, but less than Rs2m. In 16 places, the per marla value is calculated at more than Rs2m, but less than Rs3m. And in three places, the value is over Rs4m, but less than Rs5m. As a result, Lahore emerges as the city with the highest values of DC rates for determination of taxes.

Peshawar

In Peshawar city, 335 areas are listed. Like Punjab, there is no distinction in the value of an open plot and built-up properties here either.

The highest per marla value of a residential property is calculated at over Rs1 million in 70 areas of Peshawar city, making Peshawar the city with the second highest values for residential plots in the maximum number of areas.

The per marla value was calculated at over Rs3 million in Gari Abdul Majid, Tehkal Bala & Payan, Sufaid Deri Jamrud Road and Abadi Peshawar. In 22 areas of the city, the per marla price of a residential plot is less than Rs100, 000.

Islamabad

The valuation of table in Islamabad is divided sector-wise. The per marla value of a residential plot in the upscale F-6, F-7 and F-8 sectors is calculated at Rs1,213,750. The per marla value of a residential property is lowest in sector I-16 and the highest in E-7, at Rs1,428,750. Valuation tables are also notified for the sectors---D-12, E-11, E-12, F-10, F-11, G-7 to 11 and I-9 to 16.

However, rates have not been revised for sectors B-17, C-15, C-16, D-13, D-17, B-17, D-17, G-13, G-14, G-15, G-16, F-14, F-15, F-16 and F-17. Islamabad’s rural areas were also not considered for revaluation.

Quetta

In Quetta city, 634 areas have been identified in the new valuation. The values are placed in three categories — commercial plot, non-commercial and adjoining-street plot. The measurement unit used is per square foot.

The most expensive residential plots are on Price Road, valued at Rs8,505,000 per marla, while the lowest per marla rate of Rs1,350 applies to the Killi Zafran area.

Published in Dawn, August 3rd, 2016