Punjab Assembly Speaker Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan, on Monday declared an agricultural tax notification issued through executive orders as null and void, asserting that only the Assembly holds the authority to impose taxes.
While delivering his ruling on the floor of the House, the Speaker stated that the power to levy taxes rests solely with the provincial legislature and cannot be exercised by any government official.
“This authority of the Punjab Assembly cannot be exercised by a government officer,” he said, adding that no executive authority, including the senior member of the Board of Revenue, has the legal mandate to impose any form of tax.
Malik Muhammad Ahmed Khan further termed the issuance of such a notification a violation of the Assembly’s privilege, stressing the need to uphold constitutional boundaries between legislative and executive powers.
He directed the Standing Committee on Legislation to review all taxes imposed through executive authority and submit a detailed report to the House within 15 days.
