LAHORE, Nov 10: The Lahore High Court on Monday adjourned for Dec 1 hearing of petitions which challenged the new method of the assessment of property tax by the Punjab Excise and Taxation Department.

Justice M.A. Ghani allowed the petitioners to make a reference with the chief justice for a decision about the modalities of the future proceedings.

The petitioners’ counsel, who were not less than 50, objected to ‘re-opening of the issue’ of the property tax evaluation.

They submitted that the department had based the new assessment method on the valuation tables which were introduced by incorporating Section 5-A of the Punjab Finance Act 1988 in the Punjab Immovable Property Tax Act.

It had been based on an empirical data of taxpayers compiled for the purpose of these assessments on the rental value of the property and was not in consonance with the new provision of the law.

The valuation tables did not conform with the spirit of the new provision of the law as the excise and taxation department was using the data prepared for the earlier assessment criteria.

Besides, the valuation tables had not been prepared in a transparent manner. Properties within the rating areas have been classified in seven categories and different rental values been worked out in each category. The categories have been divided on a residential and commercial basis and each residential area been further divided into small and large properties.

The department neither made the scheme public for inviting objections nor clarified the objection criteria providing the basis for categorization of properties.

An excise and taxation department official, who appeared before the court on one of the proceedings, admitted that valuation tables had not been prepared on the basis of a new survey.

Justice Jawwad S. Khwaja, who heard the petitions from March to June 2002, had deferred the issue till the end of September that year on the request of the then advocate-general Maqbool Elahi Malik who sought time to examine the issue in consultation with the excise and taxation department.

Justice Khwaja had observed on June 11, 2002, that the new assessment of property tax does nor prima facie appear to be in consonance with the provisions of section 5-A of the law, the preparation of valuation tables was not above transparency because the new system was not made public for objections.

The issue was taken up afresh after Justice Khwaja’s transfer, which prompted petitioners’ counsel to raise the objection on Monday and their plea was addressed with the order that they could move the chief justice for a remedy.