LAHORE: Punjab’s excise and taxation department has served a notice on the Lahore residence of PTI chief Imran Khan, seeking information about the property size and other details to calculate a luxury tax.

The notice issued on Thursday said the provincial government imposed a luxury tax from July 2014 on houses measuring at least two kanals (around 1,200 square yards) under Section 8 of the Punjab Finance Act 2014.

“You are required to furnish the information in the enclosed form (LT-I see Rule 3(1)) within seven days from the receipt of this letter,” it said.”

The short letter was addressed to Mr Khan’s deceased mother, Shaukat Khanum. According to an official in the department, the property in question — Mr Khan’s Zaman Park residence — is still listed in her name. He said the notice was issued to collect information about the current status of the residence ahead of assessing and imposing a luxury house tax.

Notice addressed to Shaukat Khanum as property still in her name, says tax official

The previous house built on the plot had been constructed in 1970 and was demolished in 2018, the official said. Later, the construction of a new house was completed in 2020, which fell under the category of a luxury house, he said.

To a question, he said there were no politics in this case, as the department was supposed to collect taxes and achieve its annual target by June 30 — the last day of the fiscal year.

“You know how the PTI people react even on any legal action against people belonging to the party,” he said.

According to the Punjab Finance Act 2014, a house measuring two kanals or above with a covered area of more than 6,000 square feet and whose construction was completed between Jan 1, 2001, and June 30, 2022, would attract a tax at the rate of Rs100,000 to Rs200,000 per kanal depending on the neighbourhood.

A house measuring eight kanals or above with a covered area of more than 12,000 square feet and built during the same period would be charged a tax of Rs200,000 to Rs300,000 per kanal (subject to maximum of Rs2.4m to Rs3.6m).

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2023