Govt to award associations for boosting tax collection

In a first, the Delhi government is planning to award ‘development funds’ to those trader market associations, which contribute to increasing tax collection in the national Capital.

The Arvind Kejriwal government’s move aims to encourage traders to pay their tax ‘honestly’ and increase tax collection. The scheme may be introduced next month.

“Under the scheme, Delhi government will hold a competition among state’s traders associations. Those associations, which give extra tax collection, will be rewarded with incentives that can be used for carrying out developments in market areas,” a senior government official said.

The official said for instance if members of a traders’ association pay Rs 10 crore as tax to the government, it will give around 5-7 per cent of the total collected tax to such traders’ association for carrying out developmental works such as building roads, toilets, pathways, etc., in respective their areas.

“We will also encourage traders, who are so far not part of any association, to form an association so that more participants could take part in such kinds of competition,” the official said.

There are around three lakh registered traders across the national Capital, but many are yet to get themselves registered with the government.

Apart from this scheme, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government is also going to organise camps in market areas for traders, whose turnover is over Rs 20 lakh annually, to register themselves with the Trade & Taxes Department.

“From the first week of December, the government will start organising camps in different market areas so that more traders could register themselves with the department,” another official said.

Traders can also register themselves online by going to department's website.