Punjab Proposes New Force to Collect Sanitation Tax and Charges

Lahore: The Punjab government has proposed establishing a new force under the Excise and Taxation Department to ensure effective collection of sanitation taxes and charges across the province.

According to media reports, official documents recommend the creation of 305 new posts in the Excise Department for the proposed recovery drive. Of these, 300 Grade-5 posts would be filled by recruiting Excise and Taxation Constables.

It is being considered that seven to eight constables will be deployed in each district to carry out the recovery campaign. The force will be responsible for collecting sanitation charges from around 4.7 million properties across Punjab, distributing bills, following up with defaulters and recovering outstanding dues.

Director and Deputy Directors Proposed

The proposal also recommends the appointment of one director and four deputy directors to supervise the force administratively.

The proposed force would operate under the Chief Minister’s Suthra Punjab Programme and work directly under the Director General of Excise and Taxation.

To facilitate field operations and enforcement activities, the purchase of vehicles and motorcycles has also been proposed.

Under the plan, 300 electric motorcycles would be provided to the 300 constables. In addition, one 1,300cc car and four Suzuki Cultus vehicles would be purchased for supervisory officers.

Rs113 Million Requested

According to the report, Rs113 million has been requested for the purchase of vehicles and electric motorcycles.

A proposal is also under consideration to provide a supplementary grant from the Punjab government to cover the costs associated with the purchase of vehicles and electric bikes as well as the newly created posts.

The proposed force is aimed at strengthening sanitation charge recovery and ensuring that outstanding payments are collected more efficiently across the province.