The Kochi Corporation has earned an additional income of Rs.1 crore between November 9 and November 18, against the revenue that reached its coffers during the same period last year.
This was revealed when data on revenue collection was prepared as demanded by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
The surge in revenue collection was the result of the amnesty scheme announced by the State government for tax defaulters and the Corporation’s persistent campaign, the civic administrators claimed in their reply to the PMO.
The revenue that reached the civic body’s chest was Rs.2.87 crore against the Rs.1.74 crore of the previous year. Of the additional revenue that it collected during the period, Rs.99.98 lakh was collected as cash and the rest in the form of bank cheques.
People paid taxes using old currency notes to make the most of the amnesty scheme under which the penal interest on tax arrears were waived off. The waiver offer would end on December 31, said the civic administrators in their reply.
“However, demonetisation has hit the civic body hard,” said Deputy Mayor T.J. Vinod.
The civic body had widely publicised the government decision permitting tax remittance using cancelled legal tenders till November 24, which increased cash flow, he added.
