ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat on Tuesday observed that the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) was charging capital value tax on agricultural farmland on the basis of per square foot instead of the square yard as was practiced in the past.

One square yard is equal to nine square feet which means the FBR has been charging nine times more tax on the transfer and sale deeds of farmhouse land located in various parts of Islamabad.

In Islamabad, there are four types of agricultural farmhouses: vegetable, orchard/vegetable, poultry and vegetable, and horticulture and orchards.

The chairman of the committee, Senator Talha Mehmood, said a few months ago the FBR issued a notification on the capital value tax on agricultural land and mistakenly fixed the rate on the basis of a square foot instead of the per square yard which had been a practice for decades.

He said because of the blunder, plot buyers had been facing problems. To this, representatives of the FBR said they would rectify the mistake.

“By today evening, we will issue a revised notification,” one of the FBR representatives told the committee.

An officer of the CDA, requesting not to be named, told Dawn that because of the FBR decision the sale and purchase of farmhouses had almost halted in the capital.

The committee also directed that there should be no discrimination in allowing the owners of agro-farms to utilise the covered areas.

As per the CDA rules, the owner of an agro-farm is allowed to construct on up to 4,850 square feet. The remaining 20pc of the area is meant for agriculture, such as growing vegetables, fruits, poultry etc. The committee members observed that because of CDA’s lethargic approach, the owners of farmhouses had constructed palatial buildings and were not producing vegetables and fruits.

“The CDA allotted the farmhouse lands to meet the vegetable needs of the Islamabad but now most of the farmhouses have become centres of entertainment and parties,” said Senator Shahi Syed.

The committee also took notice of 43 brick kilns operating in sectors H-16 and 1-17. The CDA officials told the committee that the sectors were yet to be developed and the land acquisition process was in progress. The committee directed the civic agency to pay compensation to the legitimate kilns owners for their early removal.

A citizen, Mohammad Junaid Sial, earlier informed the Senate that the number of brick kilns in the two sectors was increasing. He said the kilns were causing serious environmental and health issues, including lung diseases in the area.

The Senate then referred the matter to the standing committee which took up the matter on Tuesday.

The committee also discussed the water shortage issue in the I sectors. Chief Metropolitan Officer Asad Mehboob Kayani told the committee that the directorate of water was devolved to the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad from the CDA recently. He said the MCI was trying its best to overcome the issue.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2016

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