Excise department to collect sanitation fee in Punjab cities

The Excise, Taxation and Narcotics Control Department has signed a service-level agreement with the Suthra Punjab Authority to collect a sanitation fee from households across urban Punjab.

The agreement was signed on 21 September, Dawn reported. It follows the provincial government’s approval of a uniform sanitation fee collection model for urban areas. Dawn said the Punjab cabinet approved the model at its 36th meeting on 6 August. The monthly fee approved by the cabinet included Rs300 and Rs500 for property up to five marla.

ARY News reported that the agreement was executed by the director general of Suthra Punjab and the director general of Excise. Under the arrangement, the Excise Department will collect the cleaning fee alongside property tax. It will oversee fee collection for the 2026–2027 fiscal year, conduct house-to-house surveys and print cleaning bills.

According to ARY News, the Excise and Taxation Department will retain a 1% service fee for managing the collection. The Punjab Cabinet Committee approved the scheme in August last year to ensure uniform cleaning fee enforcement across all cities in the province, the outlet said.

The Suthra Punjab Authority is the provincial body responsible for sanitation services. The new arrangement makes the Excise department the collecting agency for the cleanliness fee in urban Punjab. Neither report gave a start date for collection. The fee is expected to be collected as part of the property tax cycle, with house-to-house surveys identifying the properties liable to pay.