By Abdul Wajid Khan ISLAMABAD, Feb 02 (INP-Wealthpk) The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has proposed constitution of a national commission to avoid any controversy during the valuation of immovable properties across the country. Briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Finance on the revised valuation of immovable properties, Chairman of the FBR Dr. Ashfaq Ahmed recently said the upward revision of property across the country was aimed at bringing the property value closer to the market price in line with the global best practices. However, he added that there should be a proper mechanism at the national level to determine the existing market prices of immovable properties. He said the FBR was not provided with any additional infrastructure and resources to prepare valuation table for the entire country but it did the best job in the available resources. He added that the FBR was ready to address the reservations of stakeholders about the issue and will welcome any suggestions for improvement. Chairman of the Committee Senator Talha Mehmood said the government should provide the necessary infrastructure and resources to the FBR for the establishment of a proper mechanism to prepare valuation table for the whole country. Representatives from different chambers of commerce, real estate and construction industry raised their serious concerns about the revised valuation table. They said due to the revised valuation, rates of properties had increased up to 15 percent in Karachi, while in other cities, there was an increase of 100 to 700 percent, which created difficulties for the real estate and construction businesses. Meanwhile, the FBR had decided to hold in abeyance its new property valuation till January 16, 2022. In an official statement, the FBR said taking cognizance of a number of complaints from across the country received from various stakeholders, including real estate agents and town developers, about the extraordinary rise in property rates resulting from the recently notified property valuation, they had issued detailed instructions through an office memorandum on the procedure to be adopted to review the anomalies in the property rates and rationalize the same. Accordingly, it has been decided to review and revisit the notified valuation tables wherever overvaluation or undervaluation is pointed out by a stakeholder. Implications for housing and construction sector The FBR has taken the right step to hold in abeyance the new valuations for taxation until January 16 next year because relevant stakeholders are already raising serious issues on it. It is hoped that the government will resolve this issue on a permanent basis with consultation of all stakeholders, otherwise this issue may hurt the government’s measures to boost housing and construction sectors. Muhammad Ahsan Malik, who is General Secretary of Real Estate Consultants Association (RECA), in his written letter to Chairman of the Senate Muhammad Sadiq Sanjrani said the statutory regulatory order (SRO) issued recently by the FBR on valuation of immoveable properties will have a catastrophic effect on the construction and real estate industry, as the valuation estimates were way more than the actual price of the properties. It added that under this SRO, ordinary people intending to build their houses won’t be able to buy any property due to increased prices. This will not only hurt the real estate sector, but also more than 40 allied industries will be ruined. Pakistan is the 5th most populous country in the world, with 220 million citizens. According to official figures, 36.38% of the total population resides in urban areas, while 63.62 lives in rural parts. So, there is a growing demand for houses due to a 2.4% annual population growth rate of the country. Experts believe Pakistan’s housing and construction sectors will grow substantially in future due to the government support and its effective policies. Pakistan’s real estate holds a strong growth potential and the government policies and support measures have provided the much-needed impetus to the housing and construction sectors in the country. According to a report of the Board of Investment (BoI) on the housing and construction sectors, Pakistan’s total urban housing units stand at 20.01 million and rural housing units at 12.19 million. The country's annual housing demand is estimated to be about 700,000 units, while only about half of this demand is currently being met. On the whole, the housing deficit is estimated at 10 million units, which is growing every year. The incumbent government has already taken multiple steps to boost the housing sector to fulfil the growing need for housing units in the country. So, the government should also consider the proposal to build a national commission for valuation of immoveable properties as proposed by chairman of the FBR to provide further boost to the housing and construction sectors in the country.