BHUBANESWAR: Launching a crackdown on holding tax defaulters, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has shut down two shops in the last two days for failing to clear their arrears and current dues.
Officials said a commercial building at Sampark Vihar, Patia under Ward no 1 has been sealed for non-payment of holding tax. The building houses multiple bank offices and other business. “We have sealed the complex over holding tax default that runs into lakhs of rupees,” a BMC revenue official said.
A marble showroom in Ward no-4 has also been closed for tax default. The official said multiple large defaulters have not cleared their pending arrears for a long period. There are even establishments whose arrear and current dues towards holding tax have reached the range of Rs 2 crore to Rs 5 crore. “The holding tax arrears in the city have exceeded Rs 80 crore, significantly affecting BMC’s revenue earnings,” he said.
The BMC has been able to collect only about half of the total property tax target of Rs 100 crore for 2024-25. The generation of tax towards trade license fee and user charges has also been disappointing.
Sources said against a total of 1.5 lakh-odd households in the city, only half are paying holding tax. Similarly, though around 40,000 traders and 25,000 street vendors are doing business in the city, a large chunk of them are not paying users fee, trade licence fee or property tax.
Worried over poor revenue collections, the corporation has launched a 15-day tax assessment drive for households and traders from February 11.