Industrialists in Chhattisgarh freed from a hefty 'unwarranted' tax

Industrialists in Chhattisgarh can heave a sigh of relief as the state government has decided to exempt them from a hefty tax that was technically unwarranted.
 

Owners of the facilities located in the Urla Industrial Growth Centre — on the outskirts of capital Raipur — were in a fix over the huge penalty imposed due to a reported administrative error.

The Centre, housing 418 units, is managed by the Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation (CSIDC).

The state-run agency had leased out the land to the industrialists and had been collecting the required fee from the units against the infrastructure, water and other basic amenities.

In January 2003, the state government notified that it is carving out a new civic body named Birgaon Municipal Corporation (BMC) from Raipur. It incorporated six villages that included Urla.

The notification reportedly failed to omit the industrial area from the corporation orbit as it had been paying the required fee to the CSIDC.

Subsequently, the BMC fixed the property tax on the industries and also fees for basic amenities that included water, cleanliness and street lights that industrialists had been paying to the CSIDC.

The industrialists contested the dues and did not pay. They approached the government and officials to rectify the error.

The amount that included the penalty and principal mounted to a hefty amount in the last 23 years.

Last month, the BMC cracked down on the industrialists and issued recovery notices. It threatened stringent action that included seizure of the assets if the notice was not complied.
 

Finding no way out, the industrialists last week met Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.

Later, the CM announced that the industries set up in the industrial areas would be exempt from the property tax imposed by the corporation.