PESHAWAR, Nov 20: In line with the decision of the Supreme Court, the NWFP government has written off over Rs37 million out of the total Rs105 million arrears the province owed to recover from farmers on account of agriculture income tax, according to the official sources.

Arrears payable by the farmers community of the NWFP accumulated to over Rs105 million by the close of the last financial year.

However, in line with a recently given decision of the Supreme Court, said the sources, the NWFP had to write off some Rs37 million out of the total arrears accumulated since 1996-97 financial year — when agriculture income tax was introduced for the first time on acreage basis in the NWFP.

The Supreme Court had declared illegal the levy of agriculture income tax for the financial years of 1996-97 and 1997-98 after a group of farmers, including the sitting provincial minister for revenue, excise and taxation, challenged the introduction of the tax without giving it cover under the provincial finance act (pertaining to that two financial years).

The then provincial government, according to the official sources, had introduced the agriculture income tax through executive orders without getting it cover under the finance act.

“After doing necessary calculations keeping up with the Supreme Court decision, an amount of Rs37 million has been written off out of the total Rs105 million arrears the farmers community collectively owe to pay to the authorities concerned,” they said.

In the mean time the provincial government has, so far, made recoveries of Rs43.5 million out of the total agriculture income tax arrears, leaving the balance recoverable amount at about Rs24 million.

Out of the 16 districts of NWFP, where agriculture income tax is applicable, Rs6 million arrears has to be recovered from the farmers of Peshawar, Rs5.8 million from Nowshera, Rs2.5 million from Kohat, Rs1.7 million from Mardan, Rs3.4 million from Swabi, Rs3.8 million from Bannu and over Rs700,000 from Tank district.

Whereas, 100 per cent arrears recoveries have been made from the districts of Mansehra and Lakki Marwat.