LBT ( LOCAL BODY TAX)

LBT ( LOCAL BODY TAX)

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will begin traders’ registration for Local Body Tax (LBT) from Thursday. The civic body has slotted 199 items in six categories and fixed the rate for LBT. The proposal has been sent to the State government for final approval.

From the new fiscal year, LBT will replace octroi. All traders who import goods costing more than Rs 5,000 will come under the purview of LBT and will have to register themselves with the local self government body for the same. The civic administration, along with the State government, will fix LBT rates every year. Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Pathak said, “The process of paying LBT is simple as compared to octroi.

Even the tax rates are less. So we are expecting more traders to register for the process. It will also increase our revenue.” He added, “The corporation has already created a data bank of traders in the city with inputs from the sales tax, property tax and water departments.

Around 3.45 lakh traders will come under the purview of LBT.” Octroi is a major source of revenue for the PMC. It generates around 40 per cent of its total income. The PMC is expecting Rs 1,300 crore from octroi till the end of the current financial year. Vilas Kanade, head of octroi department, said that the traders can register themselves at 16 centres across the city.

These centres have been set up at 15 wards offices. One centre is at the octroi department office near PMC headquarters in Shivajinagar. “The traders can register themselves online or they can come to one of 16 places, where the registration process will be carried out for them,” he said.

The details of the registration process have been uploaded on the PMC’s official website www.punecorporation.org.

SORCES: PUNE MIRROR.