THE PUNJAB INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT CESS ACT 2015 (XXX of 2015) CONTENTS CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY 1. Short title, extent and commencement 2. Definitions CHAPTER II SCOPE OF CESS 3. Scope of cess and allied matters 4. Person liable to pay cess 5. Payment of cess 5A. Refund 6. Exemptions CHAPTER III OFFENCES AND PENALTIES 7. Default surcharge 8. Penalty 9. Waiver of default surcharge or penalty CHAPTER IV MISCELLANEOUS 10. Application of provisions of other laws 10A. Appointment of Cess Officer 11. Power to make rules 12. Bar on adjustment 13. Intersystem connectivity 13A. Establishment of pickets, check-posts or monitoring stations 13B. Posting and powers of officers 13C. Assistance by other authorities and agencies 13D. Electronic monitoring 13E. Offences and penalties 13F. Power to entrust functions 14. Savings TEXT 1 THE PUNJAB INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT CESS ACT 2015 (XXX of 2015) [26th June 2015] An Act to levy and collect infrastructure development cess on transportation of goods manufactured, produced or consumed in, imported into or exported out of the Punjab. It is necessary to levy and collect infrastructure development cess on transportation of goods manufactured, produced or consumed in, imported i nto or exported out of the Punjab; to provide resources for the maintenance, development and improvement of the infrastructure required, amongst other things, to cater for the load of goods traffic; and to deal with other purposes; Be it enacted by Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as follows: CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY 1. Short title, extent and commencement .– (1) This Act may be cited as the Punjab Infrastructure Development Cess Act 2015. (2) It extends to whole of the Punjab. (3) It shall come into force from the 1st day of July 2015. 2. Definitions.– In this Act: (a) “Authority” means the Punjab Revenue Authority established under the Punjab Revenue Authority Act 2012 (XLIII of 2012); (b) “cess” means the infrastructure cess levied and collected under the Act and includes default surcharge or penalty or any other sum payable under the Act or the rules; (c) “Customs Act” means the Customs Act, 1969 (IV of 1969), and rules made or notifications issued under that Act; 2[(ca) “exported out of the Punjab” means the transportation of goods out of the territorial limits of the Punjab;] (d) “FBR” means the Federal Board of Revenue established under the Federal Board of Revenue Act, 2007 (IV of 2007); 1This Act was passed by the Punjab Assembly on 2 4 June 2015; assented to by the Governor of the Punjab on 26 June 2015; and, was published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated 26 June 2015, pp. 7369-7372 2Inserted by the Punjab Infrastructure Development Cess (Amendment) Act 2026 (XXXV of 2026), published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary) dated 13.05.2026, pp. 6057-6059, s. 2(a). (e) “goods” means goods classifiable under the First Schedule to the Customs Act and includes the goods defined under that Act; (f) “Government” means Government of the Punjab; 1[(fa) “imported into the Punjab” means the transportation of imported goods into the territorial limits of the Punjab, and includes transportation of imported goods through the terr itorial limits of the Punjab to any other province of Pakistan; Explanation: A goods declaration having an address within the Punjab or where the registered business address of the importer, consignee, or owner of the goods is situated in the Punjab, shall be deemed to constitute import into the Punjab for the purposes of levying and collection of cess;] (g) “infrastructure” includes roads, streets, bridges, culverts, lights on passage, beaches, public parks, place of public recreation or enjoyment and convenience, eating places, landscape, forests, fisheries, delta conservation, lakes, breeding places of aquatic life, wildlife and its sanctuaries, public schools, vocational and technical training centers and projects, libraries, museums and similar institutions controlled and financed by the Punjab, control of traffic for smooth flow and other movement of goods, public order, police force, patrol for safety of goods, stands for loading and unloading of goods, parking places, markets, water supply, hospi tals and dispensaries and development, improvement, maintenance and protection of such infrastructure; (h) “person” includes: (i) an individual; (ii) an association of persons; (iii) a company incorporated, formed, organized or established in Pakistan or elsewhere; (iv) the Federal Government; (v) a Provincial Government; (vi) a local authority in Pakistan; or (vii) a foreign government, political subdivision of a foreign government, or public international organization; 2[(ha) “regulations” means the regulations framed under the Act;] (i) “rules” means the rules made under the Act; (j) “Sales Tax Act” means the Sales Tax Act, 1990 (VII of 1990); and 1 [(k) “value” means the value of goods being imported or exported, as determined by an officer of customs for purposes of the Customs Act, 1 Inserted by the Punjab Infrastructure Development Cess (Amendment) Act 2026 (XXXV of 2026), published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary) dated 13.05.2026, pp. 6057-6059, s. 2(b). 2Added by the Punjab Infrastructure Development Cess (Amendment) Act 2026 (XXXV of 2026), published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary) dated 13.05.2026, pp. 6057-6059, s. 2(c). 1969, provided t hat in case of goods manufactured, produced or consumed in Pakistan, the value shall be determined by reference to the value determined under the Sales Tax Act for purposes of levy and payment of sales tax.] CHAPTER II SCOPE OF CESS 3. Scope of cess and allied matters.– 2[(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act and the rules, there shall be levied and collected a cess on all goods manufactured, produced, consumed, imported into the Punjab or exported out of the Punjab at the rate of 0.90% of the total value of such goods as assessed for customs purposes, whether customs clearance of those goods occurs within the Punjab or not.] (2) The cess shall be deposited in the Provincial Consolidated Fund to be utilized by the Government for maintenance and development of i nfrastructure and other activity ancillary to the infrastructure in such manner as may be deemed proper by the Government. 4. Person liable to pay cess .– (1) Every person manufacturing, producing or consuming goods and every person importing goods into the Pu njab through any port, dry -port, airport or custom station including bonded warehouse and every person exporting goods out of the Punjab shall be liable to pay the cess. (2) Nothing contained in this section shall prevent the collection of cess from a different person if that person is made separately, jointly or severally liable for payment of the cess under this Act or the rules. 5. Payment of cess.– (1) In case of goods imported into or exported out of the Punjab, cess shall be payable in the same manner and at the same time as if it were a customs duty regardless whether or not the goods are liable to such duty. (2) In case of goods manufactured, produced or consumed in the Punjab, cess shall be payable in the same manner and at the same time as if it were a sales tax payable under the Sales Tax Act. (3) The amount of cess shall be deposited in such head of account as may be specified by the Government. (4) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, the Authority may, in respect of any goods, category or class of g oods and subject to such conditions, restrictions or limitations, if any, specify any other manner or time or mode of payment of cess. 3 [5A. Refund .– Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the Authority or its authorized officer, subject to such c onditions and restrictions as may be prescribed, 1Substituted by the Punjab Finance Act 2016 (XXXV of 20 16), published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated: 29.06.2016, pp. 6083-6092, s.9: it came into force on 1 July 2016 2Substituted by the Punjab Infrastructure Development Cess (Amendment) Act 2026 (XXXV of 2026), published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary) dated 13.05.2026, pp. 6057-6059, s. 3. 3Inserted by the Punjab Infrastructure Development Cess (Amendment) Act 2025 (XIII of 2025 ), published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated: 18 March 2025, p. 3557, s. 2. may allow refund of cess claimed to have been paid through inadvertence, error or misconstruction.] 6. Exemptions.– (1) Notwithstanding anything contained in sections 3 and 5 and unless otherwise specified or d irected by the Government through a notification in the official Gazette, the goods exported ou t of the Punjab 1[,] the goods manufactured, produced or consumed (other than goods imported on payment of cess) in the Punjab 2[and the goods exempted by the Fed eral Government from payment of duties and taxes for import] shall be exempt from cess. (2) The cess shall not be payable in respect of imported fresh food items like fresh vegetables and fresh fruits. (3) The Authority may, with the approval of the Government and subject to such conditions as it may impose, by the notification in official Gazette, exempt any goods, or category or class of goods from the payment of whole or any part of the cess: 3[Provided that where the Government considers appropriate and necess ary, it may allow exemption from payment of cess from any previous date as may be specified in the notification.] CHAPTER III OFFENCES AND PENALTIES 7. Default surcharge.– (1) Where any person has not paid any amount of cess due under this Act, he shall, i n addition to the cess due or any other penalties payable under the Act, pay default surcharge at the rate of two percent of the payable amount of the cess per month. (2) Where necessary, the amount of default surcharge shall be prorated but in a case the period of default is less than one month, the amount of default surcharge shall not be prorated. Explanation.– For the purposes of this section, the ces s due does not include penalty. 8. Penalty.– Where a person has failed to pay any amount of cess, he shall be liable to pay a penalty not exceeding ten percent of the amount of cess due and payable. 9. Waiver of default surcharge or penalty .– The Authority may, subject to such conditions as it deems appropriate, waive the payment of default surcharge on cess under section 7 or penalty under section 8 in any case or class of cases. CHAPTER IV 1For the word “and” substituted by the Punjab Finance Act 2021 (XIX of 2021), published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated: 30th June 2021, pp. 10047-10050 s.6. 2Inserted by the Punjab Finance Act 2021 (XIX of 2021), published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), d ated: 30th June 2021, pp. 10047-10050 s.6. 3Added by the Punjab Finance Act 2020 (VIII of 2020), published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary), dated: 29 June 2020, pp. 4353-4359, s. 6. MISCELLANEOUS 10. Application of provisions of other laws.– (1) In case of goods imported into or exported out of the Punjab, the Customs Act shall, as nearly as possible, apply t o the collection, payment and administration of the cess in so far as it relates to: (a) manner, time and mode of payment; (b) declarations, processing and management thereof; (c) keeping of records, accounts and documents; 1[(d) ****] 2[(e) ****] (f) all other ancillary matters. (2) Where required in case of goods manufactured, produced or consumed in the Punjab, the Sales Tax Act and the rules made and notifications, orders and instructions issued under the Sales Tax Act shall, as nearly as possible, apply to collection and payment of cess under this Act in so far as they relate to the matters covered in subsection (1). 3[(2a) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the Punjab Sales Tax on Services Act 2012 (XLII of 2012), and the rules made thereunder, shall, as nearly as possible, apply in so far as it relates to: (a) seeking information or requisitioning record; (b) issuance of show cause notice; (c) adjudication including appeal and reference; (d) imposition of penalty and prosecution; (e) recovery; (f) enforcement; and (g) all other ancillary matters thereto.] (3) This Act and the rules shall be treated as fiscal law for the purpose of clause (h) of section 2 of the Punjab Revenue Authority Act 2012 (XLIII of 2012). 4[10A. Appointment of Cess Officer .– The Authorit y may, by notification in the official Gazette, designate its one or more officers as Cess Officer for the purposes of this Act.] 1Omitted by the Punjab Infrastructure Development Cess (Amendment) Act 2026 (XXXV of 2026), published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary) dated 13.05.2026, pp. 6057-6059, s. 49(a). 2Omitted by the Punjab Infrastructure Development Cess (Amendment) Act 2026 (XXXV of 2026), published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary) dated 13.05.2026, pp. 6057-6059, s. 4(a). 3Inserted by the Punjab Infrastructure Development Cess (Amendment) Act 2026 (XXXV of 2026), published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary) dated 13.05.2026, pp. 6057-6059, s. 4(b). 4Inserted by the Punjab Infras tructure Development Cess (Amendment) Act 2026 (XXXV of 2026), published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary) dated 13.05.2026, pp. 6057-6059, s. 5. 11. Power to make rules 1[and frame regulations].– (1) The Authority may, with the approval of the Government and by notification in the official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act. (2) The Government shall lay all the rules made during a financial year in Provincial Assembly of the Punjab at the time of presentation of the annual budget for the next financial year. 2[(2a) The Authority may, by notification in the official Gazette, frame regulations for carrying out the purposes of this Act.] (3) The Authority may issue 3[notification,] general orders, circulars or instructions, directions or clarifications to carry out the purposes of this Act or the rules4[:] 5[Provided that in case of issuance of a notification, it shall be published in the official Gazette.] 12. Bar on adjustment.– The amount of cess payable or paid under this Act shall not be adjusted against any other tax, levy or cess payable to the Government under any other law, and any other tax, levy or cess shall not be adjusted against any amount of the cess payable under the Act. 13. Intersystem connectivity.– The Authority may enter into such arrangements for real time connectivity of its computerized system with the system of FBR or any other department, organization, institution or authority as it may deem proper for the purpose of regular or efficient monitoring of the collections and receipts of the cess. 6[13A. Establishment of pickets, check -posts or monitoring stations .– The Authority may, by notification in the official Gazette, establish pickets, check -posts or monitoring stations at such territorial limits of the Punjab, areas, entries, exit points in the Punjab, or at any other strategic locations, as it may deem necessary, for the purpose of monitoring, verification and ensuring proper collection of cess and may deploy its officers for such purposes in coordination with the concerned enforcement agencies. 13B. Posting and powers of officers .– (1) The Authority may post its officers and officials on each picket or check -post or monitoring station as it may deem 1Inserted by the Punjab Infrastructure Development Cess (Amendment) Act 2026 (XXXV of 2026), published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary) dated 13.05.2026, pp. 6057-6059, s. 6(a). 2Inserted by the Punjab Infrastructure Development Cess (Amendment) Act 2026 (XXXV of 2026), published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary) dated 13.05.2026, pp. 6057-6059, s. 6(b). 3Inserted by the Punjab Infrastructure Development Cess (Amendment) Act 2026 (XXXV of 2026), published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary) dated 13.05.2026, pp. 6057-6059, s. 6(c). 4Substituted for "full stop" by the Punjab Infrastructure Development Cess (Amendment) Act 2026 (XXXV of 2026), published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary) dated 13.05.2026, pp. 6057-6059, s. 6(c). 5Inserted by the Punjab Infrastructure Development Cess (Amendment) Act 2026 (XXXV of 2026), published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary) dated 13.05.2026, pp. 6057-6059, s. 6(c). 6 Inserted by the Punjab Infrastructure Development Cess (Amendment) Act 2026 (XXXV of 2026), published in the Punjab Gazette (Extraordinary) dated 13.05.2026, pp. 6057-6059, s. 7. necessary for the purposes of this Act, and designate an officer as officer in - charge of such picket or check-post or monitoring station or all of them. (2) Notwithstanding the generality of the provisions of sub -section (1), the officers and officials shall have the powers to stop, inspect, verify, and record the movement of any goods liable to cess, and may require production of such documents or evidence as may be necessary to ensure proper assessment and collection of the cess. 13C. Assistance by other authorities and agencies .– The officers may, where necessary, seek assistance of the custom s authorities, law enforcement agencies or any other public or private bodies for the purposes of coordination, data sharing, verification or operational support in connection with establishment, functioning and enforcement activities at such pickets, check-posts or monitoring stations. 13D. Electronic monitoring.– The Authority may make electronic surveillance, tracking, or data transmission systems at the pickets, check -posts, or monitoring stations to ensure transparency, accountability and monitoring o f the movement of goods liable to cess. 13E. Offences and penalties .– Any person who obstructs, hinders or resists against the lawful functions of an officer at any picket, check -post, or monitoring station, or who evades, attempts to evade, or abets evas ion of cess, or furnishes false or misleading information regarding goods liable to cess, shall be liable to a penalty which shall be at least equal to the amount of leviable cess and may extend to ten times the cess leviable on such goods, in addition to any other action that may be taken under this Act. 13F. Power to entrust functions .– The Authority may, by notification in the official Gazette, entrust the management, supervision or operation of any picket, check-post or monitoring station established u nder this Act to any department, authority, agency or organization of the Government, subject to such conditions, limitations and directions as it may specify in the notification.] 14. Savings.– Where the Government or the Authority takes any action, makes any decision or orders, issues any instructions, directions, clarifications or notifications in pursuance of or in exercising of powers conferred under any provision of any law in respect of any matter relating to the cess and allied issues covered under this Act or the rules, such actions, decisions, orders, instructions, directions, clarifications and notifications shall be deemed to have been validly issued to serve the purposes of this Act and the rules.