KARACHI: Various departments of the Sindh government are major defaulters of motor vehicle tax as they owe around Rs41 million.

The Governor House owes Rs0.446m, Chief Minister House Rs0.475m, Sindh High Court registrar Rs0.288m, Sindh Police Rs12.523m, agriculture department Rs5.421m, culture and tourism Rs1.032m, home department Rs0.585m, law department Rs0.208m.

The health department owes Rs4.083m, mines and minerals Rs1.056m, local government Rs6.243m, Sindh Ombudsman Rs0.099m, population welfare Rs1.993m, information and archives Rs0.889m, forest Rs1.319m, works and services Rs0.575m, social welfare Rs0.940m, livestock and fisheries Rs0.591m, and planning and development Rs0.655m.

In February 2015, the excise and taxation department in an unprecedented move registered 368 unlisted vehicles through Motor Vehicle Registration (MVR), which belong to various government departments.

The highest number (310) of vehicles was used by Sindh Police, followed by IG Prisons (12), Commissioner of Karachi (12) and others, with a total registration dues of Rs20.815m. The amount was cleared through book adjustment.

The Motor Vehicle Registration enrolled 206,492 vehicles during July-May 2014-15, with a total fee of Rs1,298.5m. It included private, commercial vehicles and motorcycles.

Around 144,753 bikes were registered till March 30. Last year the figure stood at 199,178 bikes.

Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play