The Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) has sealed over 30 shops for non-payment of property tax in a crackdown on Tuesday.
The board had issued notices asking vendors to deposit their arrears from 2007-08 to 2013-14 till September 30. The directives were given by RCB Chief Executive Officer Rana Manzoor against traders whose arrears exceeded Rs100,000. A five per cent discount was announced for traders who pay taxes before the due date.
A delegation of the traders union met RCB officials to request them to accept payment of arrears in instalments. “Instead of cooperating with us, they threatened to seal our shops in case of failure to deposit the arrears,” alleged a union member.
Sharafat Malik, a shop owner, criticised the board’s decision, saying it was impossible for him to pay the amount in lump sum.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 25th, 2013.