BACK in 2008, I had purchased a resi-dential plot of land in phase I of Abuzer Ghaffari Cooperative Housing Society in Karachi situated in Sector 53-A, Scheme 33 within the administrative jurisdiction of Cantonment Board Malir (CBM).

As per the CBM rules, prior to getting a house constructed in phase I of the society, the land holder is required to get the lease deed executed before the sub-registrar of Gadap Town. A few days ago, I went to the relevant office to inquire about the expenses to be incurred in this regard. I was told by the officials that as a non-filer, a gain tax at the rate of 12 per cent of the valuation table must be paid in addition to other taxes and expenses.

As per this rate, a land holder owning a plot of 166.67 square yards is required to pay approximately Rs1.2 million on account of gain tax in addition to other taxes and expenses. This is far beyond the payment capacity of a middle class individual. I am at a loss to understand the logic behind imposing such a huge gain tax on the execution of lease deed because nothing is being gained by the land holder in financial terms.

In fact, as per the practice in vogue, the land owner is supposed to pay many other taxes and duties at the time of the exe-cution of lease deed. The relevant authorities should look into this public issue seriously, and take necessary steps to abolish the imposition of unwarranted and unjustified gain tax on the registration and execution of lease deed.

Hasan Afzaal
Karachi

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2025