As 84 units of both phases of Industrial Area in Chandigarh have arrears worth Rs 32.18 lakh of commercial property tax, Chandigarh municipal corporation (CMC) will be introducing an agenda item in the monthly general house meeting to waive-off their interest money.
Since this is the first of its kind financial decision related to such a big number of industrial units of both industrial phases, only the general house is competent to take decision on the matter.
The said amount of the estimated arrears is related to the sheds constructed in these 84 industrial units. In their request, the industrialists said these sheds were constructed in the industrial units much after the imposition of the commercial property tax in the city in 2004. Thus, there is no logic of imposing the arrears from the date when the sheds were not even constructed.
Since the owners of these industrial units did not notify the additional construction of these sheds, the survey wing of the MC’s tax branch calculated the tax amount of these sheds since the day of imposition of the commercial tax in 2004.
“If people don’t declare extra construction immediately after the work is done, the MC will impose the tax since the day one of the imposition of the tax and thus they should have declared the additional construction immediately after the sheds were ready,” sources in the MC said.
As per the records of the tax branch of the MC, these 84 industrial units have already paid principal amount Rs 39.32 lakh of these units, but the arrears went up to Rs 32.18 lakh after it was imposed in 2004.
“Since the principle amount is already paid and the industrialists pleaded that arrears are unjust as these were constructed much later, the general house is the only competent body to take policy decision in this regard. Therefore, the matter is going to the general house,” said a senior MC official.
The tax branch of the Chandigarh MC is also bringing an agenda item to waive off the tax amount of Rs 6.20 lakhs of religious property, Shri Mahavir Mandir Muni Sabha, in Sector 23. Since the matter is related to waiving-off the tax amount of religious and non-commercial properties discussed a few months back in detail, now the members of the house will have to take decision on the same.
