“It is mandatory for the traders to
register for the LBT and take the certificate. Those who don’t have the
certificate cannot trade in the city. There are provisions to impose a
fine and punish traders who won’t follow rules,” said Vilas Kanade,
joint commissioner, LBT for PMC. However, Kanade said that since the LBT
system was new, the PMC would go soft on the punishment, but would
rather focus on educating traders about LBT and its benefits.

The local body tax came into effect from Monday. All traders, who import
goods worth over Rs 5,000 will have to register with the PMC for the
same.

PMC now plans a shop-to-shop survey to identify traders
who have not registered themselves for the LBT system. “If any trader is
found to have skipped the registration, officials will appeal to them
to take the certificate and also tell them what action can be taken
against them for violation of rules,” Kanade said.

He said that
since the octroi department had been closed from Monday, the staff
there would now be deputed for LBT work. Nearly 650 people, including
officers and other staff, will carry out the LBT programme and will even
undergo an LBT training programme on Tuesday.

The civic
administration had started 16 centres across the city for LBT
registration. Of these, 15 centres were set up at the 15 ward offices
while one centre was established at the octroi department office near
the civic body’s headquarters in Shivajinagar. The registration process
had started on March 14.

“Though technically the process has
concluded, traders are welcome to submit their applications. The civic
administration has decided to consider new applications of traders even
after the deadline,” said Kanade.

Octroi has always been a
major source of income for PMC and accounts for 40 % of its revenue. The
PMC collected Rs 1,314 crore from octroi till March 31, 2013. It is
more by around 84 crores compared to last year’s collection.