Urban News

With gold merchants failing to furnish details of their business to the civic body for evaluating octroi on purchase of goods from outside its jurisdiction, the Pune Municipal Corporation has filed criminal complaints against seven prominent city merchants for not cooperating with the administration in giving information on their business and payment of octroi.

“The civic body filed criminal complaints against seven gold merchants for not furnishing the details on the business as sought for evaluation of octroi,” said standing committee chairman Arvind Shinde. The merchants are Chandu Kaka Saraf, Ranka Jewellers, Ashtekar Brothers, Khari Pedhi, P N Gadgil, Vaman Hari Pethe, Gold Mart Jewellers.

The jewellers were served notices on September 9 but they failed to furnish their buiness details of last six months. “The criminal complaints were filed as the jwellers failed to furnish their business transaction documents in time,” said Hemant Nikam, PMC octroi chief.

According to the Pune Saraf Association, the civic body has no power to seek information on the details of the business transactions by traders. “The demand by the PMC is illegal and we will not accept it. The administration is unable to reveal the rule under which it was seeking the information,” said Fatechand Ranka, president of the association. The jewellers will fight the cases filed against them by the civic body, he said. “We are ready to cooperate with the civic body if they take a legal step,” said Ranka. NCP leader Nilesh Nikam said there has been octroi collection of Rs 1.45 crore from gold against the total octroi collection of Rs 526 crore till Septemeber-end. Independent corporator Ujjwal Keskar said the standing committee had directed the administration to take up the drive of getting 3,000 city jewellers registered.