RAWALPINDI: The Punjab government has cancelled Sunday’s weekly holiday for officials from the Punjab Excise and Taxation department, in order to intensify a Rs30 billion, province-wide tax recovery campaign.

A senior official from the department told Dawn the Directorate of Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control issued orders to speed up the tax recovery campaign in the province in order to meet its target of Rs30 billion.

He said the weekly holiday for tax recovery staff was cancelled and their daily working hours extended so that the officials could recover as much as possible to meet their target. He said the government has also sought daily reports on sealed properties and details of recovered sums.

He said the officials were warned that action would be taken against those who failed to perform their duties, and department officials will report to their supervisors daily.

Excise and Taxation Rawalpindi Director Tanveer Gondal said the recovery rate in Rawalpindi is better, because 80pc of the property tax target and 80pc at the motor vehicle branch had already been met.

He said the order was issued to departments across the province. He said the government cancelled the holidays of tax recovery teams every year before the end of the fiscal year. — A Reporter