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Army to re-check property tax record

RECORDER REPORT

LAHORE: Taking stock of the complaints about alleged evasion of property tax by a number of assesses, officials of army monitoring cell, set up in Punjab Excise & Taxation Department, have decided re-checking the urban property tax record in the province.

According to inside sources, the process of re-checking would be carried out in two phases. In the first phase, they added, inspection of property tax record in big cities would be carried out, while at a later stage, the operation would be spread over all the province including the small cities.

The sources disclosed that army monitoring cell had received several complaints of property tax evasion by the assesses with the connivance of the officials of the department during the course of tax assessment conducted last year. Taking note of the complaints, the army monitoring cell has decided to re-check the record. The field staff of the department along with two army monitoring staff members would make on the spot inspection of assesses in all circles and zones of each property tax region.

Sources said that on the basis of results of the fresh inspection all discrepancies would be corrected and action would be taken against the tax evaders and the functionaries of the department, if found involved in this ugly practice.

Sources claimed that during the re-checking exercise, evasion of property tax worth millions of rupees is expected to be detected from Lahore alone.