The first half of the financial year has brought good news for the cash-strapped BMC with octroi collection Rs 250 crore higher than that for the same period last year. The collection of Rs.2,428.17 crore from April 1 to October 4 is,in fact,the highest for this in the past four years. The collection for the years first half was Rs.1916.91 crore in 2007-08,Rs.2,335.83 crore in 2008-09,and Rs 2,178.29 crore last year. Officials with the BMCs assessment and collection department have attributed the 12 per cent increase in to increased import of crude oil and gas. The department has revised its annual octroi collection target from Rs 4,000 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 4,775 crore for the current year. Octroi collection is one of the largest sources of revenue for the civic body,constituting almost 23 per cent of the total annual budget of Rs.21,000 crore. Chief assessor and collector Vasant Pandhere said a considerable increase in the import of crude oil and gas into the city,coupled with an increase in the quantum of goods brought into the city through the five octroi nakas,have resulted in the higher collection trend. Crude oil collection in the first half increased to Rs 817 crore from last years Rs 695 crore. Collection increased by 10.68 per cent,from Rs 1,209.44 crore in the first half of 2009-10 to Rs 1,338.55 crore in the current year,at the five octroi nakas: LBS check naka and Eastern Express Highway check naka at Mulund,Dahisar octroi naka,Vashinaka octroi naka in Mankhurd and Airoli octroi naka. Oil companies such as HPCL,BPCL,IOC and ONGC are the largest importers of crude oil in Mumbai,contributing a large share of the octroi collection.
