Octroi gone,LBT not yet in: PCB losing Rs 1.5 cr every month

A PCB official said,“To meet the deficit,we have managed early collection of property tax of Rs 5.74 crore. Instead of generating property tax receipts in June-July,we generated receipts in April- May. Thankfully,octroi arrears worth Rs 9 crore,which PMC owed us,have been paid to us in two installments — Rs 5 crore in June and

Rs 4 crore in September.”

Octroi formed a major contributor to the revenue of the cantonment board. Collected by the PMC,a component of octroi would be handed over to the PCB on a monthly basis. But since April 1,when the collection of octroi stopped in the state,PCB,like PMC,decided to impose LBT from traders within its limits. While PMC has already implemented LBT,PCB’s plan has been a non-starter due to procedural delays. While octroi generated about Rs 18 crore per annum for PCB,LBT — as earlier told by Arati Mahajan,vice-president,PCB — was expected to generate a whopping Rs 60 crore per year,if collected.

In a press release earlier,PCB had said that it intended to impose LBT in the same framework that is applied by the state government. The proposal was responded to with queries by the MoD,and a PCB official said the latest proposal had been sent 15 days ago.

Asked if in the absence of LBT,goods are being sold cheaper within PCB limits and whether losses will be made up for,given that six months have already passed without a prime source of income,the official said: “We have proposed that PCB be allowed to implement LBT with retrospective effect,but it depends on whether MoD gives us permission.”

Another official said,“Whatever the reply from the MoD,we have asked vendors and business entities to keep their account books up to date from April 1 because if permitted,we intend to collect the tax amount from that date. This may amount to about Rs 8-9 crore.”