The Sindh High Court (SHC) has restrained the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) from collecting Municipal Utility Charges and Tax (MUCT) in areas falling under Karachi’s cantonment boards. KMC had been recovering the municipal tax through K-Electric (KE) by incorporating MUCT into monthly electricity bills. The court announced its decision while hearing a petition filed by residents of Cantonment Board Malir, who challenged the inclusion of municipal taxes in KE bills. 

The SHC ruled that the authority to collect municipal taxes in cantonment areas lies solely with the cantonment boards, and ordered KE to stop collecting MUCT through electricity bills in those jurisdictions. During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel argued that the Malir Cantonment Board was already charging conservancy tax, while Karachi Metropolitan Corporation had additionally imposed municipal charges through electricity bills. 

The lawyer contended that two separate bodies were collecting municipal taxes simultaneously and that Karachi Metropolitan Corporation had no legal authority to levy taxes in cantonment areas, where the cantonment board already imposes higher charges. He requested the court to bar both KMC and K-Electric from collecting any municipal taxes from residents of the cantonment areas.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)