Kolkata: With owners of several commercial entities in the industrial estates in the city remaining untraceable, leading to non-payment of taxes, Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) Firhad Hakim has instructed the assessment department to collect taxes from the occupants of such properties.
During the KMC’s monthly meeting on Saturday, councillor Sanchita Mitra raised in the House that at the RIC Compound at Upen Banerjee Road at Behala there are several factories, big and small, situated on seven bigha government land.
She said these factories continue to function without paying any taxes to the KMC.
The councillor also highlighted that these factories are getting to avail all civic amenities from KMC without paying taxes. She also inquired as to whether these factories at all have any legitimate documents to show.
Commenting on the matter, Mayor Firhad Hakim said there are about 25 business entities located on that seven bigha government land at the RIC Compound. These entities are in the hands of an official liquidator, he said.
He further informed the House that the KMC has written to the liquidator of such entities for clearance of taxes and hoping that they will pay.
Hakim highlighted: “I have asked the assessment department officials that wherever owners of such business entities cannot be found, taxes will be collected from the occupiers. It cannot go on that the occupants will continue to avail all civic amenities such as water supply, roads, lights, and yet pay no taxes to the KMC.” He added: “Assessment department officials have been asked to collect tax from such industrial estates where owners are untraceable. We have provisions in law whereby KMC can collect ‘occupier tax’.”
Hakim has also reminded that KMC has the provision to use Section 275 of the KMC Act 1980 where if property tax is unpaid for over a year, the water supply line can be disconnected.
“However, since water is considered the second name for life, we refrain from doing it,” he said.
KMC has been taking strict measures to collect property tax which is one of the main sources of revenue for the civic body which at the moment is facing fund crunch. An official said the civic body had set a collection target of Rs 1200 crores for the financial year 2022-2023.