Daily Times

KARACHI: The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation has faced a deficit of Rs 9 billion in July to March 2017, fiscal year, on account of being deprived from legitimate revenue collection on different accounts in July to March 2017, fiscal year, officials of KMC revealed.

The revenue collection under budge target of entity in this period should have been around Rs 20 billion but due to Sindh government’s decision of taking control over Property Tax, Local Tax, Solid Waste Management, Milching Tax, provincial Annual Development Programme, Building Control Betterment Tax Health and Education Tax and Food Department Fee, the entity has experienced a massive shortfall in tax collection, officials lamented.

“This is a sheer violation of Sindh Local Government Act, 2013, under which it has been clearly defined that civic entities within their sphere of tax collections have been entitled to collect taxes and levies on their own”, officials confirmed.

At present KMC is collection Municipal Utility Charges (MUC) Tax, which comes around to Rs 30 million a month. “It is very difficult to run the officials and economic affairs of the entity with such meager funds”, Khalid Mahmood Sheikh, Finance Adviser KMC informed.

Moreover, KMC has also been deprived of revenue generation from Food Fee, which is one of the bigger avenues of tax collection, he added.

Due to closure of Clifton Fish Aquarium, KMC has also become empty pocketed besides millions of rupees in tax from abattoir have been stopped under litigation, as the contractor has acquired stay order against the civic entity.

Sindh government has also deprived KMC of collection of lease fee on Katchi Abadis, this has been an added financial difficulty for KMC .

KMC has also been deprived of millions of rupee revenue collection on vehicles parking at Parking Plaza in Saddar as the Plaza has been handed over to Karachi Development Authority (KDA). In addition, bachat bazaar’s incomes have also been transferred to KDA.

Sea Dues Tax has been renamed as Road Users Infrastructure Tax by Sindh government resulting in, KMC loosing this tax collection opportunity, Financial Adviser added.

Annual budget of KMC stands around Rs 24.77 billion. Outstanding dues of KMC stand at around Rs 15 billion against Karachi Electric (Rs 1.71 billion (bn), Sindh Building Control Authority (Rs 1 bn), Property Tax Department and dues from District and Provincial Annual Development Programme (Rs 200,000 million), which has not been cleared till date, as reported by Finance Department KMC.

Revenue receipts from Parking Fee Hawskbay Truck Stand and Information Technology Department KMC has become zero, according to financial report 2016-17.

KMC has also been facing a shortfall in revenue collection on different income heads. According to financial reports, Store and Procurement faces 97.64 percent shortfall, District Medical Services 79.25 percent, Municipal Commissioner Secretariat 98.14 percent, Veterinary Department 92.08 percent, Enterprise and Investment Promotion 95.58 percent, Project Directorate Orangi 81.64 percent, Land Management 91.41 percent, Municipal Utility 74.43 percent, Food Department 73.14 percent, Medical and Health Services 95.95 percent, Estate Department 79.39 percent, Store and procurement Department 97.64 percent, Katchi Abadis 48.94 percent and Transport and Communication Department are facing a collection shortfall of 85.68 percent.