The proposal comes in the wake of the Palike failing to tax the five lakh ‘unauthorised’ trade units in the City. With a meagre Rs 16 crore collected from 48,000 trade units, the BBMP is at a loss to tap this source of revenue.
“What the proposal states is to make it mandatory for firms and factories to obtain the trade licences when they pay their Value Added Tax (VAT) at the Commercial Tax office,” said a member of the Committee.
If such a proposal does pass through the Council, the BBMP will be able to check corruption at the field level indulged in by its officers.
Irregularities
“Our officers at the ground level are known for taking advantage of the trade units which have not obtained the trade licences. This will stop,” added the committee member.
However, BBMP officials claim that outsourcing the issue of trade licences to Commercial Tax department is not that simple. “While this may be a good idea, there is a lot of procedural problems,” said a Palike official.
Additional burden
According to the official, the Commercial Tax department will first have to agree to bear the additional burden of collecting the trade licence fee from the consumer.
“This apart, there are variable fees for the five lakh trade units. Each trade unit differs on the quantum of electricity it requires, based on which the trade licence fee are fixed,” the official said.
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