The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), with an aim to generate more revenue from the real estate sector, has elevated the valuation rates of immovable property. Previously All Real Estate Agents Registration From FBR has been made Compulsory and now the valuation table introduced for Immovable Property Valuation Rates By FBR in 2016 and amended in 2019 has been further revised for around 40 cities of Pakistan and a fresh valuation table has been notified. Earlier the Apex revenue body used the valuation table for 20 major cities but now the evaluation rates of immovable properties including residential and commercial areas of 40 major cities of the country have been brought under the revised evaluation table.
The federal revenue body has revised the valuation rates to a large percentage of the following main cities namely, Abbottabad, Attock, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Chakwal, Dera Ismail Khan, DG Khan, Faisalabad, Ghotki, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Gwadar, Hafizabad, Hyderabad, Islamabad, Jhang, Jhelum, Karachi, Kasur, Khushab, Lahore, Larkana, Lasbella, Mandi Bhauddin, Manshera, Mardan, Mirpurkhas, Multan, Nankana, Narowal, Peshawar, Quetta, Rahim Yar Khan, Rawalpindi, Sahiwal, Sargodha, Sheikhupura, Sialkot, Sukkur, and Toba Tek Singh.
The Revised Property Valuation Rates in the major cities have been raised manifold by the revenue body. For instance, in the federal capital, an F-6, the rate is decided to be Rs 200000 per square yard, in E-7, the valuation rate will be Rs 250,00 per square yard, F-7, Rs 350000 per square yard, B-17, Rs 55,000 per square yard, Mumtaz city, Rs 39000 per square yard and Bahria town, Rs 49000 per square yard. For flats in E-7, the value is fixed at 251,500 per square foot. Similarly, the value of shops in the Blue Area is fixed at 680,420 per square foot. In the same way, the valuation rates in Karachi, Rawalpindi, and other major cities have been revised.
The major aim of the federal revenue body behind this elevation is the documentation of economy and collection of more and more revenue in line with the State bank of Pakistan recent report 2020/21 regarding “ State of Pakistan Economy” whereby it has urged to bring the property value at par with market prices. The report said, “There is a need to ensure continuity in this exercise to remove the disparity between the property values and market rates,”. Meanwhile, The Real Estate Agents Association (REAA) has condemned the decision and by saying that the authority has taken the decision without taking the stakeholders into confidence and that the association would never accept it at all.
