KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the ministry of defence, Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC), Defence Housing Authority (DHA) and other respondents on a set of fresh petitions filed against an increase in property tax.

Shabnam Jabbar and four other residents of DHA and Clifton, through their counsel, filed petitions in the SHC and contended that the impugned challans issued to them by the CBC were tantamount to double taxation since they had already paid tax for year 2022-23.

Citing the defence secretary, CBC, DHA, Sindh excise & taxation secretary and Karachi Metropolitan Corporation as respondents, the petitioners argued that after promulgation of 18th Amendment to the Constitution, CBC was not entitled to recover any tax on immoveable properties as legal question for such determination was pending in court since 2015.

They stated that following the constitutional amendment, the provincial government might impose tax on immoveable property and recovery of house tax by the CBC was in violation of the Constitution.

Court issues notices to respondents for Sept 6

The petitioners pleaded to declare that the CBC was not entitled to demand or recover house (property) and conservancy tax.

They also sought directives for the CBC to withdraw challans issued to the petitioners for the tax year 2022-23 and to restrain the respondents and their officials from demanding such a tax.

After a preliminary hearing, a two-judge bench headed by Justice Junaid Ghaffar put the respondents on notice with direction to file comments till Sept 8.

Last week, the same bench had also issued notices to the DHA, CBC and others respondents in an identical petition for Sept 6.

Over 55 residents of DHA and CBC had petitioned the SHC and impugned a letter issued on Aug 23, 2022 by the assistant director general military land & cantonments boards Rawalpindi and contended that through the impugned letter, an illegal exorbitant and arbitrarily assessed tax was foisted upon them and other residents of DHA and CBC under the garb of house tax by misinterpreting some provisions of the Cantonment Act 1922 and Chapter V of Cantonment Act 1924.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2023