Stay order issued on 300 percent hike in Islamabad property taxes

Dunya News

The court issued notices to the MCI and the CDA with orders to submit their written response.

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday issued restraining order against 300 percent hike in property tax for property owners in the federal capital, Dunya News reported.

The bench summoned the mayor of the city, the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to appear before the court in the next hearing.

The court issued notices to the MCI and the CDA with orders to submit their written response within two weeks.

The petition was filed by Jamat-e-Islami (JI) leader Mian Aslam and his advocate argued before the bench that the metropolitan corporation has increased property tax by an unprecedented 300 percent. He pleaded with the court to declare the move as “null and void.”

The MCI approved the increase in property tax last December, making it applicable from July 1, but tensions between the MCI and Capital Development Authority (CDA) over who would control the revenue directorate responsible for collecting property tax meant that the distribution of property tax bills was delayed.

Bills that should have reached people in the first week of August were distributed last week, with Sept 30 listed as the due date.