CHENNAI: Due to the non-payment of taxes to the civic body, the Chennai Corporation is unable to pay even the salaries to its employees, the Madras High Court has observed.Refusing to provide any interim relief to the management of Crowne Plaza, against which the employees of the civic body had performed ‘thandora’ (tom-tom) to recover over property tax of Rs 24 crore, Justice M Duraiswamy made the observation on Friday.
The restaurant moved the court to quash the demand notice of the Corporation and restrain it from taking any coercive step.Its senior counsel Satish Parasaran contended that the hotel had never said it would not pay the tax. The assessment was challenged in a civil court and it would pay whatever the amount the court would decide, he said. However, the manner adopted by the Corporation in collecting the dues, by bringing drum-beaters and parking garbage lorries, was not fair, he added.
“Anyway you are going to pay the tax. Now, pay the amount demanded and adjust it towards future assessments based on the outcome of the civil case,” the judge suggested.The very assessment of tax has been challenged in the civil court, as it was made by the authorities in an arbitrary and erroneous manner. The authorities have adopted an erroneous method of calculation and arrived at an exorbitant increase, the judge said. The basis of the assessment is illegal, especially when the guideline value has been considered, as the High Court itself has made it clear that guideline values cannot be the basis for market value, he added.
Making it clear that the court cannot interfere in the issue if at least Rs10 crore is paid, Justice Duraiswamy said, “This is a big amount to the Corporation. Because of such defaults, the Corporation is struggling to even pay salary to its staff.”Parasaran replied that even to pay Rs 5 crore, his client would need at least a month’s time.
Representing the Corporation, Additional Advocate-General Narmadha Sampath submitted that the the petitioner hotel alone was not targeted. The entire process initiated by the Corporation is common to all such establishments, she said and added, “If we go back from our stand, then it would become a precedent for such defaulters.”
“This apart, the modus of calculating the tax has been formulated and passed as a government order only after consultation with all stakeholders. The meetings were even represented by the association of hotels, of which the petitioner is also a member. Therefore, they cannot go back from what they have already accepted,” Narmadha said.
Next hearing on March 26
As counsel sought time till Monday to get instructions from the petitioner as to the exact amount they could pay and the time required, the court adjourned the hearing to March 26