70,000 Homes in Bidhannagar ‘Added Areas’ in Service Tax Net
In an effort to increase revenue earning by providing civic services, Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation plans to collect service tax from about 70,000 houses in the corporation area that do not have any holding number and neither pay any tax though availing of all civic services. The civic authorities now plan to collect a quarterly amount of Rs 250 from those householders as service tax to be on a par with houses that pay property tax. “The assessment process is on. The civic authorities will be able to earn an additional Rs 24 crore per annum once this service tax is introduced,” said municipal commissioner Alokesh Prasad Roy, adding that there are no legal hassles in introducing the service tax. At present, there are around 70,000 houses in the Bidhannagar Municipal Corporation area that do not have any holding number and thus, though the householders avail of the civic amenities like water supply, drainage system and waste disposal, they do not pay any tax. Most of these houses are located in ward numbers 12, 15, 27 and 28 in the areas of Mahisbathan, Nayapatti, Baguiati, Kestopur and Rajarhat — which have been included in the corporation area. The civic authorities have come up with a data base of the status of each household within their jurisdiction. Householders of such plots said the previous Bidhannagar municipality had given them number plates as addresses.
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