PESHAWAR, Dec 22: Acting Director General Excise and Taxation NWFP Mohammad Nasir Khan said on Thursday that an error-free computerized motor vehicle registration system had been introduced in the province to plug all loopholes that lead to the transaction of bogus and fake vehicles.

In an interview with the APP here, he said under the new system registration plates would be prepared in Germany and the department has received the order from 50,000 vehicle owners for new number plates which would be provided to them shortly. Moreover, the motor owners would also be provided error-free registration books besides giving them the original file of their vehicle.

To a question, Nasir Khan said that excise offices in 24 districts were being interlinked through networking which would be updated with the latest record of vehicles and will discourage elements involved in bogus registration.

He said that presently 400,000 vehicles were registered and it was a Herculean task to prepare new data of vehicles under the new system.

However, he said that his department was engaged in efforts to prepare the new data.

To another question, he said the department had recovered over Rs1 billion under the head of various provincial taxes while the pace of recovery during the first six months of current fiscal is far better than the corresponding period.

He said that despite having limited resources the Excise and Taxation Department was doing well regarding recovery.

The department receives nothing under the head of property tax from Malakand Division, which comprises seven districts, as the relevant law has not yet been implemented there despite the fact that the Motor Vehicle Ordinance 1965 and Motor Vehicle Taxation Act 1958 had been enforced. The ETO Swat, he said, stood fourth among his contemporaries regarding recovery.

In reply to a question, Nasir Khan said that tobacco cess was emerging as a potent source of revenue in Swabi, Charsadda, Mardan and Mansehra, and added that the department had recovered Rs210 million last year under the same head.

He said that Virginia tobacco being produced in Mansehra was the best among all tobacco-producing countries.—APP