Excise directors ordered to ensure targets achieved

LAHORE:Caretaker Excise and Communications Minister Punjab Bilal Afzal has ordered the directors of Excise & Taxation across the province to ensure the achievement of the set targets for the current financial year and to bind the field staff to conduct door-to-door campaigns. He said that rewards would be given to the officers collecting the revenue more than given targets.

He was presiding over the directors' conference at the office of DG Excise on Friday. Secretary Excise Masood Mukhtar, Director General Excise Muhammad Ali, DG Narcotics Rao Shakeel, Additional DG Ahmed Saeed and directors were also present in the meeting in which the performance of the directors was reviewed.

Bilal Afzal said that special attention should be paid to the recovery of arrears. He asked the directors for comprehensive suggestions to improve the tax collection system. He said, "We have the lowest property tax rate in the world and even then the recovery cannot be made 100 percent."

The provincial minister assured that he would provide all possible support to improve the performance of the department and would try his best to resolve the important issues raised in the meeting. Bilal Afzal further said that the Punjab budget was heavily dependent on tax revenue, so it was necessary to expand the tax net using modern technology. He also asked the directors to take concrete measures for anti-narcotics across the province. Meanwhile, Secretary Excise Masood Mukhtar said that recovery, reforms and reward system was being introduced to increase the efficiency of the department. He urged the officers to ensure the target of Rs400 million during the Eid operation. Masood Mukhtar said that Farid Kot Office would be made a model business centre. Earlier, DG Excise Muhammad Ali, giving a briefing, said that 75 percent recovery had been done from 38,000 defaulted vehicles in one month, while 16,128 properties had been sealed.