MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Thursday admitted two identical petitions, challenging the imposition of property tax, for regular hearing and restrained the authorities concerned from its collection till the next date of hearing.

The interim order was passed by senior judge, Justice Azhar Saleem Babar, at Mirpur circuit after taking up the petitions, filed respectively by senior lawyer Zulfiqar Ahmed Raja and a Mirpur based citizen Fayazul Hassan through his counsel Qazi Adnan.

AJK traders and civil society activists have been up in arms about property tax, particularly after the AJK Department of Inland Revenue started serving notices on them for its payment, late last year.

Interestingly, tax on rental property isalready in force in AJK under section 15 of AJK Income Tax Ordinance.

However, the previous PPP government also levied the same tax through legislation, notwithstanding notes of caution by the AJK Department of Inland Revenue that the said levying would amount to double taxation.

The PPP had imposed tax allegedly to meet the expenses of up-gradation of educationalinstitutions under a controversial `education pacl(age.` Under the AJK Interim Constitution Act 1974, income tax is the subject of the AJK Council while provincial taxes, such as excise duty, sales tax, motor/vehicle tax, education cess etc. are the subject of the AJK government.

However, both taxes are collected by the AJK Department of Inland Revenue that falls under the administrative control of the AJK Council, which itself is a product of the AJK`s Interim Constitution.

The council is headed by the PrimeMinister of Pakistan, while the federal minister for Kashmir affairs happens to be it s in-charge minister.

The petitioners pointed out that people should have been charged the tax from July 1, 2015 after legislation to this effect by the PPP government. However, they got notices in October 2017 to pay arrears of two years, which reflected mala-fide intention of the government.

The counsel also drew the attention of the court that since property tax was already being received, it could not be levied yet again, because double taxation was illegal in the eyes of the Constitution and law.

Referring to section 32-A of the AJK Interim Constitution, which stipulates the authority of the AJK government and the AJK Council regarding the levy of taxes, the counsel contended that the AJK government had travelled beyond its mandate by imposing this tax.During the course of hearing Justice Babar remarked in a lighter vein that the similarities between the petitions suggested that the counsel had copied each other. On this, they maintained that it appeared so because the concerns and apprehensions about the tax were exactly the same throughout AJK and that they had moved the court in public interest.

The counsel prayed that the court should not only set aside the legislation but also stop the authorities concerned from collecting the tax. Admitting both petitions for regular hearing for resolution of the points agitated by the petitioners, Justice Babar directed that notices be served to the respondents AJK government, AJK council and others to file their comments before or by next date of hearing in March.

The court also restrained AJK Department of Inland Revenue from collecting the said tax till the next date of hearing.