The Hindu       28.02.2014

Delhi civic body to tax commercial vehicles on Gurgaon Expressway

Akanksha Jain

The Delhi High Court has paved the way for the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) to collect entry tax from commercial vehicles entering Delhi from the Rajokri toll plaza at 24 km milestone on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway. The control of the expressway was recently taken over by the Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC), the lead financer of the project, putting an end to a long-drawn legal tussle.

A Bench of Justice Manmohan Singh took on record the settlement arrived at between the SDMC and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) for allowing the civic body to collect the entry tax. It said the Haryana Police will provide assistance for the same. The Court ordered that “the parties to the settlement shall be bound by the terms and conditions arrived at in the meeting held between the NHAI and the SDMC on February 25”.

The Bench passed the order on a petition filed by the SDMC seeking direction to restrain the Delhi Government, the NHAI and others from preventing it from collecting toll tax from Rajokri toll plaza by using the existing infrastructure and its own manpower.

The High Court was on Wednesday informed that in compliance with its February 21 order, a joint meeting was held between the NHAI and the Delhi Municipal Corporation on February 25 and the dispute resolved. Both parties placed the minutes of the meeting before the court, which said: “The Haryana Police to give the assistance and to do the needful in order to implement the minutes of the meeting.”

The parties have agreed that the NHAI will allow the SDMC to collect entry tax from commercial vehicles in six toll lanes located on extreme left side on Jaipur-Delhi bound carriageway and also on split plaza booths.

They also agreed that the “islands between the toll lands of the abandoned toll plaza will remain as it is for the time being and further improvements will be taken up to alert the traffic by way of providing traffic bollards on the nosing of the island”.

The Hindu       28.02.2014

Haryana announces major relief in property tax

Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Haryana Government has announced a major relief in the payment of property tax in the State municipalities.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, while presiding over the State Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, announced a one-time rebate of 30 per cent for those property owners who clear all their dues or arrears up to year 2012-13 by March 31, 2014.

However, mobile phones costing above Rs.10,000 would be more expensive, with the Cabinet deciding to increase VAT to 8 per cent from 5 per cent at present.

The government has also announced a rebate of 10 per cent admissible to those assesses who pay their total tax for the assessment year by July 31 of that assessment year, a statement said. For 2013-14, the concession of 10 per cent would be admissible to those assesses who deposit their dues by March 31, 2014.

Mr. Hooda said that 100 per cent rebate would be given till March 31, 2016, to properties situated in ‘lal dora’ (land which is part of the village habitation) of those villages which have come in the limits of the municipalities on or after April 1, 2010.

The Chief Minister also announced 50 per cent cut on property tax on petrol pumps. Similarly, 50 per cent rebate in commercial space rate has also been given to IT Park, cyber city or parks of all municipalities.

The flats constructed over an area of 2,000 square feet would also get 50 per cent cut in property tax. This will benefit about 80 per cent flat owners in the State.

The Cabinet also approved to reduce the VAT rates on scientific instruments under the Haryana Value Added Tax Act, 2003.

The scientific instrument industry of Ambala has been demanding for the reduction of the VAT on equipments to 5 per cent from 12.5 per cent at present. – PTI