Petitioners carry on business of installation of hoardings, billboards and neon-signs etc. Present petition has been submitted on the ground that Tehsil Municipal Administration, Faisalabad, vide Notification dated 10.2.2005 enhanced fees, leviable on advertisements, billboards, etc. and that this was done arbitrarily and proper procedure was never followed.
2. Notice of the petition was issued to respondent-TMA. Parawise comments were submitted.
3. Learned counsel for the parties have been heard it today.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioners submitted that neither any proposal was floated for enhancement of rates, which the Tehsil Municipal Administration levied on publicity, boards, etc. nor objections were invited from public and even the Tehsil Municipal Council did not consider or allow any proposal made by the Nazim and Notification dated 10.2.2005 thus was issued without due authority of law.
5. Learned counsel for the respondents, on the other hand, submitted that Notification was issued under due authority of law and the Notification was approved by the Tehsil Municipal Council under clause 9(2) of the relevant Taxation Rules and the Secretary, Local Government and Rural Development Department had granted approval to the taxation proposals, sanctioned by the Tehsil Council.
6. Learned counsel for the respondents was called upon to show record, whereby the proposal to enhance the rate of tax was advertised and public was called upon to submit objections. He was also called upon to show the minutes of the meeting of Tehsil Municipal Council in order to ascertain that Tehsil Council had considered proposals and had approved the same. Learned counsel for the TMA failed to produce any record. He simply tried to bank upon a Notification, which was issued by the Nazim and also submitted that the Notification had approval of the Provincial Government.
7. After having heard the learned counsel, it has been found that the Tehsil Municipal Administration or Nazim of the same had enhanced the tax on advertisements/billboards, hoardings, etc. arbitrarily and without following the due process, which was prescribed by the law, on the subject. No objections were invited from the public with regard to enhancement in taxes, the proposal was not placed before the Tehsil Municipal Council nor the Council had approved the proposal in any form: The impugned Notification enhancing the levy/tax on advertisements, etc. was issued in an illegal and arbitrary manner. The same, accordingly, is declared to have been issued unlawfully and would be of no legal effect.
8. The petition is allowed but without any order as to costs.