SHC restrains KMC from tax collection by electricity bills

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Monday restrained the KMC to collect its municipal tax through the electricity bills, ARY News reported.

“KMC should not collect its tax via the K-Electric. Their power connections will be disconnected if people fail to pay the tax,” the high court bench observed.

Administrator Karachi Murtaza Wahab appeared before the court in the hearing.

“What facilities are being provided to the city despite recovery of the motor vehicle tax, property tax and the advertisement tax,” Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi questioned.

“People have already been fade up of K-Electrict and throwing garbage in the vehicles of the power utility,” the bench observed.

“We have tried to collect the tax but failed in recovery,” Wahab confessed. “This tax will provide an income of 4.25 billion rupees, which will be spent on improvement of the city’s infrastructure,” Wahab told the court.

“Spend 20 percent revenue of the property tax and motor vehicle tax on the city, this tax will not be required,” the court remarked.

Administrator Karachi said that the money will be spent on roads, underpasses, bridges and parks.

“The roads are broken, sewerage has devastated, streetlights are absent, there are rampant robberies, how could you collect tax without providing services,” Justice Rizvi remarked.

“It is not a new tax,” Wahab told the court. “But not through the K-Electric, if any person fails to pay his electricity will be disconnected,” the bench observed.

The bench restrained the KMC to collect municipal tax via electricity bills till the next hearing of the case and adjourned hearing for 10 days.