CDA officials have approved a proposal which states that all owners of shops, offices and apartments in commercial buildings will be brought into the municipal tax circle.
The decision was taken in a recent meeting, presided over by CDA Chairman Farkhand Iqbal. Previously, CDA was collecting taxes from the original owner of a commercial building and not from the owners of shops, offices and apartments in these buildings.
Similarly, these shops, offices and apartment owners sell their properties and do not deposit transfer fee to the CDA because they have not been registered with it. In Islamabad, commercial properties are auctioned or sold on the basis of 33-year lease by the CDA.
According to CDA Chairman, hundreds of lease agreements of commercial plots have lapsed but due to some violations, CDA could not renew them.
If a co lessee in a commercial building violates the CDA laws, all others suffer because the CDA does not renew such leases due to individual violations. At the same time, the lease extension fee is difficult to recover as there are a number of co-lessees in one allotment. No action can be taken until the lease period is not extended. Due to minor violation of one co-lessee, hundreds suffer.
Millions of rupees on account of lease extension fee are not given to CDA due to this minor issue. Therefore, CDA officials have taken steps to recover the lease extension fee from the co-lessees according to their share.
