PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa caretaker government has launched GIS-based Centralised Urban Immovable Property Tax Management and Information System (CUIPTMIS), transforming the entire property tax regime into an automated, transparent and robust mechanism.

CUIPTMIS was launched during a ceremony held at the Chief Minister’s House on Friday with Chief Minister Justice retired Syed Arshad Hussain Shah in the chair, according to a statement.

Provincial ministers Ahmed Rasool Bangash and Ahmed Jan, secretary excise and taxation Syed Fayyaz Ali Shah, secretary local government Daud Khan and other relevant officials were in attendance.

The system has been completed at a cost of Rs95.8 million, the statement said, adding initially, the project had been launched in Nowshera and Abbottabad, and would soon be replicated in rest of the province.

Under the project, 50,938 new property units were identified in Abbottabad and Nowshera, taking the total number of property units in the districts to 90,938. With this, tax revenue in Nowshera increased from Rs69 million to Rs123 million and from Rs83 million to Rs143 million in Abbottabad.

Addressing the ceremony, Mr Shah said the newly-developed system would not only improve tax collection and management mechanism but also facilitate the taxpayers by providing them an integrated online system and grievance redressal mechanism.

“The addition of new property units in the valuation list will also result in revenue growth for the province,” Mr Shah said, adding the complicated mechanism of tax payment had always been a serious problem for citizens.

He said through the newly-established UIP Tax Management and Information System people could pay taxes from their home by using online tax payment facility.

Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2024