The Times of India               09.12.2013

Sangli Miraj Kupwad Municipal Corporation starts LBT e-payment facility

KOLHAPUR: While traders under the Sangli Miraj Kupwad Municipal Corporation (SMKMC) object to the implementation of local body tax (LBT) in its jurisdiction, the corporation has gone ahead with its plan to provide electronic payment facility for traders paying the tax.

More than 7,000 traders conduct their businesses in the three towns of Sanlgi, Miraj and Kupwad and are eligible for LBT payment. The SMKMC was the last local governing body to come under LBT cover in the state in May 21 this year.

SMKMC deputy commissioner Omprakash Divatay said, "Bank accounts have been opened in Union Bank of India, Axis Bank as well as IDBI Bank as these banks have core banking system. The traders have been given the details such as the account number and the IFSC code so that they can start transferring monthly taxes electronically. It will save their time as they can do away with the old ways of manual registration at the bank and the tedious job of saving payment receipts as they would be stored electronically."

Divatay added, "The corporation was in talks with a couple of public sector banks for starting the online payment gateway facility for LBT. The civic body and officials of banks interested in offering the facility held some meetings over the issue and decided to implement it at the earliest. The system is aimed at simplifying tax payment facilities for traders as well corporation officials as the tax would be deposited directly into the account of the civic body."

The traders in the city had recently told district guardian minister Patangrao Kadam that they were still against the implementation of LBT. Kadam had assured them of taking the issue to the chief minister.

A trader said, on the condition of anonymity, "Earlier, there was a lot of speculation about tax assessment and collection. I later realized that the LBT structure is easier and should not be protested against on baseless grounds. I have started paying the tax and the electronic payment facility will save my time."

Assistant accountant of the corporation Arun Jadhav said, "The electronic payment facility has been welcomed by many traders in the city, who have started paying the tax. More than 2,000 traders in the city have obtained their LBT registration number and have started paying the tax every month. The tax collection in November alone was Rs 6.17 crore and we are expected to touch the Rs 7-crore mark by December 20, the deadline for tax payment. The new facility will definitely speed up the tax collection procedure."