RAWALPINDI, April 20: A former member of the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) has moved the Lahore High Court (LHC) against property tax exemption given to serving and retired army officers on their rented-out properties located in the cantonment limits.

The petition was filed in the court of Justice Ali Nawaz Chohan of the LHC's Rawalpindi bench. The petitioner's counsel Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui contended before the court that giving property tax exemption on rented-out houses discriminated against civilians who paid full taxes.

He said the losses in the revenue of the RCB thus incurred would be shifted to civilians who were already overburdened with different taxes. The judge directed the federal government to submit para-wise comments in response to the arguments.

It may be recalled that the ministry of defence on the recommendations of director-general Military Lands and Cantonments had exempted from house tax the rented-out properties owned by army officers in the cantonment areas. These employees have already their self-occupied houses tax- free. The retired employees get 100 per cent exemption whereas the serving ones have 60 per cent exemption.

PLEA ADMITTED: Meanwhile, the judge admitted for regular hearing a petition regarding return of Cantonment Garrison schools to the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board. The petitioner's counsel pleaded that the institutions were established by the cantonment board with public funds but were taken over by the federal government in 1975, which later placed them under the Federal Directorate of Education and Cantonment Garrison, a subordinate body of the ministry of defence.

The civilians are discriminated against in admission to these schools, as children of army personnel are given priority whereas civilians get the left-over seats, he argued.