Meeting octroi target will be uphill task for BMC

With less than two weeks to go for the end of the current financial year

With less than two weeks to go for the end of the current financial year,the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is racing against time to meet its target for octroi collection-the civic bodys biggest source of revenue- amounting to 52 per cent of its total revenue income.

Having revised its octroi collection target twice this year from the original target of Rs 4775 crore to Rs 5045 crore,the civic body still has to add about Rs 275 crore to its coffers to meet the revised target. The collection has exceeded the target in the past four years. The collection as on March 18 stood at Rs 4254.41 crore.

Officials are unsure whether the large crude oil consignments that usually come in during the final days of March each year will fetch them the same revenue this year too,considering the ongoing crises in oil hubs such Libya and Bahrain. Out of the total collection this year,Rs.1309.22 crore have come from octroi levied on crude oil. We are hoping ONGC and HPCL will bring in crude oil consignments that will fetch us at least Rs 60 crore towards the month-end. Even after that,the average required collection will be about Rs 18 crore,which is Rs 6 crore higher than our current average daily collection. At present it is difficult to predict whether the target will be met or not, said a senior official from the assessment and collection department.

Another official said collection will have to depend largely on the octori nakas. We have to increase vigilance at our five octroi nakas because usually the import in to the city increases for products that are likely to get affected by tax hikes in the new budget. But we cannot be sure of any trend, said the official.

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