People left at mercy of touts to get token for vehicle registration

Islamabad : The Excise and Taxation (E&T) department, Islamabad, that is supposed to facilitate the taxpayers by all means has left people at the mercy of touts to get token for registration of their vehicles.

By now, the department has not installed any digital system to save them from a daylong inconvenience faced before having an appointment. The visitors have expressed concern over the fast growing activities of tout mafia around the excise office due to negligence of the authorities concerned.

They alleged that agent-mafia also extorts money for the registration of vehicles in collusion with the concerned officials.

They were of a view that, citizens were the easiest target of those agents, as they remain present every time in the vicinity of office to target the visitors pretending to be excise officials.

Babar Ali, a victim of the agent mafia, told this agency that he submitted his vehicle token tax through an agent who met him inside the Excise office.

"After few months, he said, he again visited the office for the transfer of his car where he was informed that his token tax was still pending. Wasif, another visitor at the office said, just to change the ownership of a car, it takes a whole day, where the owner is forced to stand 3 times in different lines in this hot humid weather, which is completely disappointing.

"Rather to repeat self-appreciation posts on social media regarding tax collection, the officials should concentrate on resolving the public grievances, he added.

Furqan, an appellant at the office said that, the department has failed to deliver its all services in true spirit that had aggravated the problems of general public.