Resolution seeking municipal tax collection through KE bills approved

KARACHI: A resolution seeking collection of municipal utility charges and taxes (MUCT) for the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) through K-Electric (KE) power bills has been approved by the city council, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

The general meeting of the KMC council was held at the Council Hall under the chairmanship of Mayor Karachi Barrister Murtaza Wahab.

The council approved the resolution seeking the collection of Municipal Utility Tax through KE monthly bills, amid criticism from opposition benches.

The decision was met with fierce opposition from Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), who staged a protest and chanted slogans against the K-Electric (KE). The mayor adjourned the meeting due to the ruckus.

Last month, the Sindh High Court directed the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) to complete the exercise of reviewing an agreement about collection of Municipal Utility Charges and Taxes (MUCT) through electricity bills and placing the same before the City Council within three months.

However, the SHC also asked the KMC to proceed with its actions in compliance with applicable law and ruled that any resolutions or notifications issued by the corporation must be considered provisional and subject to the final determination of a petition filed against various provisions of KMC and MUCT rules.

A two-judge bench of the SHC headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar passed these directives while disposing of three petitions filed in 2022, challenging the resolution of the KMC administrator and various notifications issued in respect of an agreement inked with K-Electric about collection of controversial MUCT for KMC through the powers bills.