The Indian Express 23.04.2013
Civic body may collect LBT in Pune Cantt limits too
Even as traders in the city have started their two-day strike against the imposition of local body tax (LBT), neighbouring Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) has made a substantial progress on implementing the new tax regime. In all likelihood, the collection of LBT in PCB limits will be carried out by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
A release issued by the board on Monday said a meeting was convened by Pune Municipal Commissioner recently where the Chief
Executive Officers of Cantonment Boards discussed the new tax regime.
"The Municipal Commissioner said that as per the Section 49 of the Cantonment Act there is a provision for aggregate area. Also, as per the Section 32 of the Maharashtra Municipal Corporations Act, PMC may be allowed to collect LBT in Cantonment on a revenue sharing basis based on the ratio of population or the amount of business transacted, whichever is higher," the release said.
The release added, "CEO of PCB said that if the civic body formally gives such a proposal, it will be placed before the board besides obtaining sanction from the higher authorities. As of now, no proposal has been sent to PCB. Action to implement LBT as decided by the board is in progress and it will soon appeal to all dealers/firms/ companies to register themselves."
Newsline has been reporting on the progress made by PCB in implementing the new tax regime. Being a local body, PCB has resolved to impose LBT as per Section 66(2) of the Cantonment Act, 2006. The board has sent a proposal to the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Law seeking imposition of tax as per the rules followed by the state government.
The implementation of LBT comes at the cost of abolishing octroi, which was a major source of revenue for the cantonment boards.
Meanwhile, the two-day bandh called by traders associations to protest against the implementation of LBT evoked mixed response in Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. While the big shops downed shutters, smaller and medium shops were seen operating.
District Collector Vikas Deshmukh said they did not take any action against traders as the shops and markets were open on Sunday. "As the bandh is for a limited time, we did not take any action," said Deshmukh.
