PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday referred petitions against multiple taxes and duties in electricity bills to the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority for decision.

A bench consisting of Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Shahid Khan observed that Nepra was the proper forum for hearing such pleas that sought to declare illegal the imposition of multiple taxes, duties and fees in electricity bills by distribution companies (Discos).

One of the petitions was filed by Pakhtunkhwa Qaumi Jirga chairman Khalid Ayub and 20 other residents, who also requested the court to declare unlawful the introduction of multiple slabs with different prices for the purpose of calculating the monthly consumption bills and also that of the “peak and off-peak hours” and unilateral repeated changes in them.

The petitioners also provided a table containing the number of free units provided free of charge to different categories of government employees, especially Disco and Wapda employees from BPS-1 to BPS-22.

Observes Nepra proper forum for hearing such matters

They challenged the growing increase in line losses and its recovery from the consumers.

The second petition was filed by retired Major General Mohammad Saad Khattak and 15 other residents of Peshawar and Nowshera, including some lawyers.

Apart from other prayers, they have requested the court to direct the respondents, including the federal government and Wapda, to charge domestic consumers of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Rs10 per unit only.

They also requested to declare illegal the free units of electricity to different officials of all the ministries, divisions, and departments.

Furthermore, these petitioners prayed the court to declare without lawful authority any agreement with the International Monetary Fund in the shape of imposition of taxes on poor citizens.

Advocates Ameenur Rehman and Bilal Jan appeared for the petitioners, Farooq Afridi for the Nepra, Rehmanullah Khan for Federal Board of Revenue, and additional attorney general Sanaullah Khan for the federal government.

Ameenur Rehman contended that for the consumption of electricity the consumers had been charged much exorbitant rates than that of the production-cum-distribution costs, besides subjecting them to multiple taxes including income tax, general sales tax, E-tax, service rent, fuel price adjustment, PTV fee, LP surcharge, GST on LPS, meter rent, peak hours charges, FC surcharge, electricity duty, and annual quarter tariff adjustment.

He said that imposition of these multiple taxes had no legal justification.

The lawyer contended that fixation of units for domestic consumers with different categories, slabs and different rates, speaks volume of mala fide and having no legal coverage and sanctity.

The bench wondered how it could take decisions for the entire country as the petitioners had claimed of filing these petitions for electricity consumers across the country. It observed that the prayers made by the petitioners regarding taxation were the domain of Nepra.

Justice Arsahd Ali observed that the Lahore High Court had delivered a judgement in almost identical matter which was set aside by the Supreme Court and the matter was referred to Nepra by it.

The bench observed that the petitioners could file fresh petitions pertaining to issues, which were in the jurisdiction of the high court.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2024