Utility bills’ payment now mandatory to transfer property in Karachi

Karachi: The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) and the Karachi Development Authority (KDA) recently announced that the payment of municipal utility bills was necessary in order to transfer/sell property or authority-leased land, a news source reported. Officials stated that the bills in question comprised the government’s source for collecting money; which in turn would be used to finance the maintenance and development of infrastructural facilities around Karachi — making their submissions absolutely essential for the city administration.

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KMC Director Municipal Utility Charges and Taxes Nayab Saeed informed the media that senior members of the Sindh Board of Revenue had been asked to collect municipal utility charges on sub-leases, transfers, mutation, and registry of government land. The law already exists as Section 19-A of the Registration Act 2013 (Sindh Amendment). The legislation says that no document on a transaction for immovable property can be registered if utility bills have not been paid.

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The rates are based on the plot size and are as follows:

• Residential units:
  • More than 1,000 square yards = PKR 800
  • More than 500 square yards = PKR 500
  • More than 240 square yards = PKR 300
  • More than 120 square yards = PKR 200
  • More than 80 square yards = PKR 150
  • More than 40 square yards = PKR 70
  • 39 square yards or less = PKR 0

• Commercial units:
  • PKR 1 per square unit

• Educational institutes, clinics, mosques, and imambargahs:
  • More than 5,000 square yards = PKR 2,000
  • More than 1,000 square yards = PKR 1,000
  • 1,000 square yards or less = PKR 500

• Industrial, agricultural units, gardens, wedding halls, clubs, hammams, cattle ponds, dhobi ghats, thellas, and high-rise commercial buildings:
  • More than 10,000 square yards = PKR 5,000
  • More than 5,000 square yards = PKR 4,000
  • More than 3,000 square yards = PKR 3,000
  • More than 2,000 square yards = PKR 2,500
  • More than 1,000 square yards = PKR 2,000
  • More than 500 square yards = PKR 1,500
  • More than 200 square yards = PKR 1,000
  • Up to 200 square yards = PKR 500