NEW DELHI: In a major reform aimed at improving ease of doing business, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Tuesday approved a proposal to subsume the General Trade/Storage Licence (GTL), issued under Section 417 of the DMC Act, 1957 within the property tax payment system. The move will eliminate the need for a separate application or licence document for traders and business owners.
Under the new system, the trade licence fee will be paid along with the annual property tax, and the payment receipt itself will serve as a valid General Trade/Storage Licence, subject to compliance with pollution control, fire safety and other statutory norms prescribed by concerned authorities.
Chaired by Delhi Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh, the House welcomed the decision as a major step towards transparent and citizen-centric governance. “This will bring immense relief to Delhi’s business community by removing redundant processes and curbing avenues for harassment.
By merging the licensing process with property tax, the MCD has made the system simpler, more transparent and truly business-friendly,” he said. He added that the corporation remained committed to supporting honest taxpayers and ensuring smoother and more efficient governance.
“This move will reduce the compliance burden without compromising safety norms or revenue obligations,” the Mayor said. As part of the reform, the licence fee has been fixed at 15 per cent of the applicable property tax of the premises. This replaces the earlier complex fee structure, which varied according to type of trade, area and category of locality.
Data analysis presented to the House indicated that the revised model would be revenue-neutral for the civic body while bringing greater fairness, predictability and uniformity for all categories of traders. The reform is also expected to significantly reduce the need for field inspections, as licence fee assessment will no longer depend on multiple subjective parameters. Officials said the change would help curb rent-seeking practices while promoting a trust-based self-declaration system.
Apart from the trade licence reform, the House approved funding for a solid waste management project under the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs’ urban development fund. As part of this decision, the long-delayed 200-tonne-per-day biogas plant at Goyla Dairy will be revived.
MCD Drives Big Reset
What’s changed?
General Trade/Storage Licence merged wAith property tax
Licence fee fixed at 15% of property tax
No separate licence application
Payment receipt = valid trade licence
Other key reforms to tackle pollution
Night & early-morning patrols activated
Dust control along roads to be intensified
Checks on construction sites
Crackdown on garbage burning
Fast-track repair of damaged roads