The Peshawar High Court has stopped the collection of taxes added to an electricity bill when the bill does not clearly explain the charges. The order came during a hearing on a petition challenging additional taxes in an electricity bill.
The court also issued a written order from the previous hearing and directed that other petitions involving similar issues be combined. The move is intended to address cases raising the same question about charges appearing on electricity bills without clear supporting details. Notices were issued to the relevant parties, while the court continued proceedings on the legal challenge.
According to the petitioner’s lawyer, the applicant regularly pays electricity bills but found additional charges in the August bill without any clear explanation. The petition claimed that the taxes appeared on the bill even though their basis was not properly shown to the consumer.
The court order states that officials had asked the applicant to decode the barcode printed on the electricity bill. After the barcode was decoded, the applicant reportedly learned that the bill included Extra Tax and Further Tax. The petitioner said these charges had not appeared on earlier electricity bills.
The petition therefore questioned the collection of the additional taxes without providing sufficient details on the bill itself. The Peshawar High Court has now barred the recovery of such taxes from the petitioner where the charges are not properly detailed, according to the order issued in the case.
The court also decided to club other petitions of the same nature so that the related matters can be considered together. This will allow the court to examine the similar petitions in a coordinated proceeding and hear the responses of the concerned parties. Notices have been issued to the parties concerned as the proceedings continue. The order specifically addresses the disputed charges in the petitioner’s electricity bill.
The Peshawar High Court has adjourned further hearing of the case until September 2. The court’s latest direction means the disputed taxes cannot be collected from the petitioner without the required details being provided on the electricity bill, while the broader legal questions about the disputed charges remain before the court for final determination.
