Kolkata: The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has recently brought in changes in the method of levying amusement tax, particularly for setting up stalls for fairs or exhibitions.
The move is aimed at increasing the revenue from amusement tax in the city. It has been a decade since the civic body has not brought in changes in the amusement tax.
According to a KMC official amusement tax is charged either on the basis of square feet area that a stall occupies or stall/ table wise. “ We have enhanced the rates in both cases,” the official added.
Previously, the rate charged for a single stall or table per day was Rs 100 which has been hiked to Rs 150 per day.
In the case of area-wise occupancy, the charge for a stall covering 1000 square feet area was Rs 200 per day. If it was above 1000 square feet, then Rs 500 per day was charged.
From now on, the charge for 1000 sq feet will be
Rs 250 per day. From 1001 to 5000 square feet, the KMC will collect Rs 600 per day and for stalls beyond
5000 square feet, an additional Rs 600 per day will be levied.
However, in case of events related to social causes like blood donation, health camps etc the KMC will waive amusement tax if such event is held in its
community halls or the auditoriums.
The Kolkata Knight Riders last month coughed up Rs 2 crore as an amusement tax to the KMC that has been pending for a long time.
The IPL team was charged Rs 65-70 lakh for each season and they used to pay Rs 20-25 lakh every year.
The matter was taken up at the highest level which led to the mopping up of the pending tax. Rs 1.5 crore is still due which the KMC
is trying to collect as fast as it can.