IHC sets aside 200% increase in Islamabad property tax

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday set aside a 200 per cent increase in property tax by Municipal Corporation Islamabad (MCI) in the federal capital.

An IHC single bench comprising Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani announced its reserved verdict.

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The court directed MCI to levy property tax as per old rates and restrained Capital Development Authority (CDA) from charging the tax, ruling that the authority to collect property tax is vested with the MPC and not CDA.

The IHC bench further ordered an audit into property tax collected by CDA after 2015 and directed it to deposit the amount it had collected under the head of property tax into the local government fund.

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The Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) and others had moved petitions in the IHC challenging the hefty increase in property tax.

They had contended before the court that MCI hiked property tax by 200 per cent while misusing its powers and requested the court to set aside the decision regarding the hike.