KMC tightens amusement tax net, sends notices to defaulters
Times of India | 1 December 2024
Kolkata: Several banquets, bars, nightclubs, and hotels are under Kolkata Municipal Corporation's scanner for not paying amusement fees. The KMC amusement department has prepared a borough-wise list of defaulters and started sending notices to them, asking them to clear dues within a fortnight, failing which appropriate action will be taken against them.
An official said a drive to augment revenue from this source was being planned by conducting drives against the defaulters after mayor Firhad Hakim's nod.
According to a civic official, the KMC amusement department has decided to widen its amusement fee net as part of the revenue augmentation drive. Sources said the department was nowhere near tapping the true potential of revenue that might be generated from it. As an instance, an official pointed out that while last year the department raised a demand of Rs 16 crore, the actual demand could reach over Rs 50 crore in a couple of years. "The revenue earning from amusement fees has remained stagnant as we need to widen our net and register several banquets, bar-cum-restaurants, spas, nightclubs, and hotels that have come up in the past few years," said a KMC official.
The official pointed out that borough-wise notices would be sent to take note of the new banquets, bars, nightclubs, hotels and spas and bring them under the fee net. "We have come to know that several such facilities have come up across the city, especially along the Bypass, in the past few years. But we have failed to bring them under the amusement fee net," said a civic official. According to a KMC amusement department source, notices have already been sent to several bars, hotels, and nightclubs in parts of central and south Kolkata. "We have asked the owners of these establishments to clear dues, else face consequences," said a KMC official.
As a first step, the KMC has decided to set up a borough-wise team that will locate new businesses that have not been registered with KMC.