The High Court today prohibited the government to collect land development tax at enhanced rates for next one year.

The bench of Justice Quazi Reza-Ul Hoque and Justice Mohammad Ullah passed the following a petition filed by Dewan Abdur Rashid, a farmer from Barisal, seeking its order for prohibiting the government to collect land development tax at enhanced rates.

Earlier on August 22 last year following a writ petition filed by Abdur Rashid, the HC issued a rule asking the government to explain why the provision of a law that empowered the government to enhance or reduce the land development tax should not be scrapped.

Petitioner’s lawyer Barrister Jyotirmoy Barua told The Daily Star that his client had filed the writ petition last year challenging the legality of the provision of the Land Development Tax Ordinance, 1976.

The petitioner said in the petition that any tax has to be enhanced or reduced through passing a bill of law by the parliament under the constitution and the government cannot enhance or reduce any tax.

The lawyer also said the land ministry on June 30 last year issued a circular enhancing the land development tax by around 500 percent under the provision of the Land Development Tax Ordinance, 1976.