Punjab Excise Department to collect empty plot tax across province: Details inside

LAHORE: The Punjab Excise Department is working to start collecting property tax from vacant plots across the province.

As per the details, Additional Director General Excise Punjab Rizwan Sherwani has announced to conduct geo-tagging to identify individuals who do not pay taxes on vacant plots.

With the new exercise, excise officials will locate all vacant plots within Punjab. Initial reports suggest over 1 lakh plots in Punjab, mostly in Lahore.

Excise Additional DG Punjab has said that over 70 percent of these plots are in upscale areas in Lahore. Through geo-tagging, a large number of vacant plots will be included in the tax net.

Read more: FBR to issue new property rates with higher tax from July 2024

For the unemployed, taxes on empty plots start at Rs3,000 to Rs12,000 per annum, based on the area’s value.

The Punjab government is also working with PTA and telecom operators to block SIM cards belonging to over half a million non-filers in Pakistan amid tightening rules around tax evaders.