The Times of India             12.02.2014

Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation initiates action in cheque bounce cases

VISAKHAPATNAM: Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC) commissioner M V Satyanarayana on Tuesday visited the accounts department of the civic body and pulled up officials for failing to take action against taxpayers whose cheques have bounced regularly.

His tour of the department follows TOI report on Tuesday headlined "Bouncing cheques add to GVMC's tax collection woes." Satyanarayana instructed the accounts section staff, including financial advisor Prasada Rao, to immediately serve special notices on those whose cheques have bounced. He also directed the officials to initiate legal action if the taxpayers repeatedly indulged in the illegal practice of submitting dud cheques.

Satyanarayana instructed Rao to appoint senior assistant and junior accountant cadre staff of the accounts section as examiners of cheques for each authorized bank and tax collection counter of the GVMC. The appointed staff will be responsible for examining the cheques and collecting taxes from taxpayers whose cheques were returned unpaid, the civic chief said.

Accounts officers informed the commissioner that a total of 58 cheques to the tune of Rs 9,26,094 bounced from April to November, 2013 while 10 cheques worth Rs 1,81,913 were returned in December, 2013 alone. However, the number of cheque bounce cases was lower as compared to the last fiscal. In 2012-13, as many as 308 cheques worth a whopping Rs 96,50,530 were returned, the accounts officer replied.