In an effort aimed at increasing revenue the Coimbatore Corporation has widened its tax net. The move comes months ahead of the civic body’s Budget for 2013-14.
The resolution the Corporation Council passed on January 31 says that the Corporation has since April 1, 2000 166 trades under the Dangerous and Offensive Trade License, as per Resolution 325 of March 27, 2000.
Under the very resolution, the civic body has removed the entry against serial number 3, which is arrack production.
To the 166 trades, the Corporation has decided to add 58 more.
This is based on recommendations from the Health Committee, which passed a resolution on May 30, 2012, and the Finance and Taxation Committee, which recommended the same through a resolution passed on August 13, 2012.
The Council has said that the Corporation will start collecting the D&O Trade License fee April 1, 2013 onwards.
Commissioner in-charge S. Sivarasu said that the civic body will start issuing demand notices to the practitioners of the 58 trades, based on which they will have to pay the licence fee to the civic body.
The 58 trades the Corporation has brought under the licence net are computer and computer spares sales centres, browsing centres, two-wheeler and four-wheeler parking spaces, footwear shops, fruits, fruit juices and cool drinks sales centres, duty-paid shops, department stores, coffee and tea powder outlets, mobile phone sales and service centres, utensils shops tiles, shops selling marbles, granite and other ceramic products, electrical wires and pipe sales centres, electrical outlets selling television boxes, iron and other goods, two-wheeler and four-wheeler showrooms, used vehicles sales centres, ice cream outlets, packaged mineral water outlets, paint shops, canteens in cinemas, shops selling plastics and toys made of plastics, sports goods shops, shops selling gym equipment, gyms, catering centres, coconut wholesale and retail outlets, flower shops, photocopying centres, private bars, TASMAC bars and plywood showrooms.
The civic body has also included shops selling puja items, hardware shops, electric motor and spares, fancy lights, wedding halls, furniture, iron rods used in construction, photo centres, spectacles, bicycles, wedding card houses, stationery shops, medical accessories, beauty products, sewing machines, button houses, travel tickets, travel agencies, pharmacies, pesticides, wrist watches, plastics and nylon products – retail and wholesale.
It has also added a few more to the list.
Mr. Sivarasu said that the licence fee was based on sq.ft. and varied from one trade to another and also depending on the shop or showroom space.
This was part of the Corporation’s efforts to augment the revenue. This year, the Corporation had Rs. 103 crore as the target for property tax collection and hoped to better last year’s 87 per cent collection.
It expected more collection from the added areas.
To increase the collection, the civic body has set ward-wise target and staff at the ward level were on the job.
