Murree to levy daily tax on hawkers

MURREE: The Municipal Corporation Murree has introduced a new daily tax of Rs200 for hawkers and mobile vendors, bringing balloon sellers, corn vendors, peanut and chickpea sellers, ice ball hawkers and other street-based traders into the tax net from July 1, 2026.

According to a notification, the revised charges come as the civic body also raises a range of other municipal fees, including public toilet charges, shop signboard fees, advertisement taxes, parking rates and slaughterhouse taxes. Objections to the new rates will be heard until June 16, while forced recovery is set to begin from July 1.

The notification states that hawkers who do not pay the Rs200 daily tax may face confiscation of their goods and carts, including balloons, gol gappas, chickpeas, peanuts, corn and pushcarts, in addition to heavy fines.

Revised civic charges

The fee for public toilets and washrooms in Murree has been increased from Rs30 to Rs50. The annual tax on small shop signboards in District Murree has also been revised sharply, moving from Rs100 per square foot annually to Rs100 per square foot monthly.

Company board tax has been fixed at Rs300 per square foot annually. The charge for six-foot banners has been set at Rs500, while banners placed on electricity and telephone poles will be charged Rs300 per square foot. Signboards will be charged Rs400 per square foot.

Advertisement tax on vehicles has been raised to Rs20,000 per day, while company product advertisements will be charged Rs5,000 daily. The no-objection certificate fee for company advertisement permits has been increased from Rs30,000 to Rs50,000, while the renewal fee has been raised from Rs10,000 to Rs30,000.

Transport and parking fees increased

The notification also revises entry fees at general bus stands. The fee for buses and coasters has been increased from Rs200 to Rs300. Minibus entry fee has gone up from Rs150 to Rs250, wagon fee from Rs70 to Rs150, Suzuki jeep fee from Rs50 to Rs100 and taxi or carry dabba fee from Rs50 to Rs100. Motorcycle fee has been increased from Rs30 to Rs50.

Parking charges across Murree have also been raised. Daytime parking for cars and jeeps has been doubled from Rs100 to Rs200, while night parking has gone up from Rs150 to Rs300. Wagon parking fee has been increased from Rs100 to Rs200 during the day and from Rs150 to Rs300 at night.

Motorcycle parking charges have been revised from Rs30 to Rs50 during the day and from Rs60 to Rs100 at night. Taxi parking fee has been increased from Rs50 to Rs100.

Other taxes revised

The slaughterhouse tax on large animals has been increased from Rs200 to Rs300, while the tax on small animals has been doubled from Rs100 to Rs200.

The measures were introduced amid what was described in the report as a severe financial and economic crisis in Punjab.