RAWALPINDI: The Rawalpindi Cantonment Board`s (RCB) tax branch has stopped trying to collect outstanding taxes from defaulters, particularly in the commercial areas.

A senior RCB official told Dawn most cantonment board employees are performing census duties, and tax recovery work has been halted for a few weeks. Another RCB official said a tax recovery campaign would be launched next month to meet the targets set by the authority for the 2016-17 fiscal year, adding that it would be difficult for the tax branch to meet these targets.

He said the RCB`s target for property tax collected from domestic and commercial units is Rs600 million, of which Rs250m have been collected from domestic units as most residents voluntarily pay their taxes at the bank.

`Rs680m has been fixed for water supply charges, but people in most areas did not pay their bills saying the water is not being supplied to their areas,` the official added.

He said commercial consumers had also failed to pay the fees.

He said the low tax recovery rate willreduce development work in the cantonment area.

`The RCB failed to launch any major development scheme in the current fiscal year due to the shortage of funds. In many areas, MNA Malik Abrar brought grants from the federal government and the water supply, schools` construction and dispensaries` establishment were made, he said.

The authority did not launch any development work from funds it collected from property tax, water charges, building plan fees and so on.

When contacted, RCB spokesperson Qaiser Mehmood said the tax recovery campaign would begin after the census is completed, which many officials are involved in.

He said the RCB would meet all its targets for the 2016-17 fiscal year, and development work would be launched after funding is allocated in consultation with elected representatives from the cantonment areas.

He said the RCB added new areas to the property tax net, which would increase the authority`s funds, and the RCB is also adopted austerity measures to save money for uplift schemes in areas that were previously neglected.