PHC declares Conservancy Tax by cantonment boards illegal

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has ruled that Conservancy Tax imposed by the Cantonment Boards on shopkeepers and owners of commercial plazas in cantonment areas is illegal and directed the authorities to refund the money collected so far.
A division bench comprising Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Irshad Qaisar announced the verdict, which was reserved a week ago. The shopkeepers of Cantonment Board Peshawar had filed the writ petition.
During hearing of the case, the petitioner’s lawyer Farman Ali Khattak submitted that the Cantonment Board authorities had imposed the Conservancy Tax on shopkeepers and owners of commercial plazas in 2013 in the cantonment areas.
He pointed out that the authorities were collecting the tax ranging from Rs500 to Rs800 with the claim that it was paid to cantonment employees for cleaning the areas and removing waste in front of the shops and shopping plazas.
The lawyer said that first there was no provision in the Cantonment Board Act 1924 to impose Conservancy Tax and second the petitioners or the owners of commercial plazas were paying the property tax to the Cantonment Board. He requested the bench to declare the tax as void and order recovery of the collected money in this respect.
However, the lawyer for the containment board could not defend the imposition of the tax. After hearing arguments, the court declared the Conservancy Tax illegal and ordered authorities to refund the collected money.
Ex-minister’s case left over: Separately, the writ petition of the PTI’s former provincial minister for mines and minerals Ziaullah Afridi was left over by another bench of the high court comprising of Justice Irshad Qaisar and Justice Roohul Amin due to shortage of time.
The high court would announce a date for hearing the case, in which the former minister had challenged his arrest by the Ehtesab Commission KP. Hidayatullah Afridi, had challenged the arrest in the high court through his lawyers Abdul Latif Afridi and Muazzam Butt.