PUNJAB ZAKAT AND USHR (AMENDMENT)
ACT, 2019
An Act to amend the Punjab Zakat and Ushr Act, 2018
[Gazette of Punjab, Extraordinary, 26th November, 2019]
ACT XIX OF 2019
No. PAP/Legis-2(24)/2019/2152.–The Punjab Zakat and Ushr (Amendment) Bill 2019, having been passed by the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab on November 18, 2019, and assented to by the Governor of the Punjab on November 25, 2019, is hereby published as an Act of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab.
It is necessary to amend the Punjab Zakat and Ushr Act (IV of 2018), for the purposes hereinafter appearing.
Be it enacted by Provincial Assembly of the Punjab as follows:
1. Short title and commencement.–(1) This Act may be cited as the Punjab Zakat and Ushr (Amendment) Act, 2019.
(2) It shall come into force at once and shall be deemed to have taken effect on and from 15 October 2019.
2. Amendment in Section 8 of Act IV of 2018.–In the Punjab Zakat and Ushr Act, 2018 (IV of 2018), for brevity referred to as “the Act”, in Section 8:
(a) in sub-section (4), after the word “Committee” appearing for the second time, the words “or any other service providing Agency” shall be inserted; and
(b) in sub-section (5), for the words “that the Chief Administrator”, the expression “the Punjab Zakat and Ushr Council,” shall be substituted.
3. Amendment in Section 9 of Act IV of 2018.–In the Act, in Section 9, for sub-section (3), the following shall be substituted:
“(3) A District Zakat and Ushr Committee may make disbursements and transfer funds through crossed cheques or bank advice, banks, post offices or any other financial institutions from District Zakat Fund to the eligible persons or to a Local Zakat Fund or to any other institution or incur other administrative expenditure subject to such conditions as may be prescribed and may, whenever directed by the Council, transfer any funds, surplus to its needs, to the Provincial Zakat Fund.”.
4. Amendment in Section 12 of Act IV of 2018.–In the Act, in Section 12:
(a) in sub-section (2), for clause (a), the following shall be substituted:
“(a) a Chairman who has retired as a civil servant in basic pay scale 20 or above, or has been a judge of a High Court, or in case of non-availability of such persons, any person who is not less than forty years of age, is a graduate, enjoys good reputation and has knowledge of Shariah;”
(b) in sub-section (2), in clause (f), the word “and” occurring after the semicolon shall be omitted;
(c) in sub-section (2), for clause (g), the following shall be substituted:
“(g) Secretary to the Government, Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department;”;
(d) in sub-section (2), after clause (g), the following new clauses (h), (i), (j) and (k) shall be inserted:
“(h) Secretary to the Government, Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department;
(i) Secretary to the Government, Higher Education Department;
(j) Secretary to the Government, Industries, Commerce and Investment Department; and
(k) Chief Administrator who shall be the Secretary of the Council.”; and
(e) after sub-section (7), the following new sub-section (8) shall be inserted:
“(8) The Government may, at any time, remove any member of the Council on the recommendation of the Council”.
5. Amendments in Section 14 of Act IV of 2018.–In the Act, in Section 14:
(a) in sub-section (2), in clause (d), for the word “two”, the word “three” shall be substituted; and
(b) after sub-section (13), the following new sub-section (13A) shall be inserted:
“(13A) When the tenure of a District Zakat and Ushr Committee expires and new Committee is not constituted, the Government may assign the functions of the District Zakat and Ushr Committee to the Deputy Commissioner or any other officer in the district administration in basic pay scale 18 or above as Administrator to perform the functions of the District Zakat and Ushr Committee until the constitution of the Committee.”
6. Amendment in Section 15 of Act IV of 2018.–In the Act, in Section 15:
(a) for sub-section (3), the following shall be substituted:
“(3) The Local Zakat and Ushr Committee shall consist of a Chairman and nine members, including at least three Muslim women who shall not be less than forty years of age, selected by the residents of the locality in the manner specified in sub-section (4) and sub-section (5).”;
(b) in sub-section (5), for the word “two”, the word “three” shall be substituted; and
(c) in sub-section (10), for the full stop occurring at the end, a colon shall be substituted and thereafter the following proviso shall be inserted:
“Provided that where election for the constitution of a Local Zakat and Ushr Committee cannot be held for any reason, the District Zakat and Ushr Committee with reasons to be recorded in writing, may appoint an officer in basic pay scale 16 or above as Administrator to perform functions of the Committee for a period not exceeding six months.”
7. Repeal.–The Punjab Zakat and Ushr (Amendment) Ordinance 2019 (II of 2019) is hereby repealed.
